Storm Front, Part I (Episode).

Archer and his crew find themselves in Earth's past, with events of World War II altered by the Temporal Cold War. (Season premiere)



Summary



The shuttlepod flees from an unexpected attack.

Commander Trip Tucker and Ensign Travis Mayweather are piloting a shuttlepod toward Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco to discover why they have lost all communication with Earth since the destruction of the Xindi weapon. Their "first contact" comes in the form of an attack from a small formation of aircraft. Tucker attempts to contact the planes, but they refuse to answer and continue shooting. Mayweather recognizes the aircraft as P-51 Mustangs, World War II-era aircraft. He explains to Tucker that he has seen the same design of plane before at air shows. The aircraft seem to be breaking off, so Tucker looks for a landing area on the ground. However, the planes were simply making sure they wouldn't get hit by heavy anti-aircraft artillery being fired at the shuttlepod. When the shuttlepod's starboard engine is damaged, Tucker and Mayweather flee back to the orbiting Enterprise.

Act One



An SS officer and German soldier, guarding Archer.

Captain Jonathan Archer, having recovered from his wounds in a German field hospital, is being transported by the SS as a prisoner-of-war in the back of a Ford Model 51 truck, escorted by a BMW R75 motorcycle and a Wehrmacht army Volkswagen Kübelwagen (though driven by an SS soldier nevertheless).



Archer as a prisoner-of-war on a German truck.

However, the officer's swagger and manner of discussion lead Archer to suspect that he may be in an alternate timeline. Suddenly, American Resistance fighters surround and ambush the small prisoner convoy, killing the drivers and several Nazi guards. Archer escapes from the truck, only to be shot in the arm and held at gunpoint by an insurgent – an American freedom fighter, in the form of a 1940s gangster.

While Enterprise continues its orbit of Earth, communications officer Hoshi Sato is monitoring radio transmissions from the planet below. When the crew listens to a speech by Winston Churchill, Sato comments that the broadcast was made only thirty minutes ago. Malcolm Reed realizes they have traveled back in time two centuries. While T'Pol calmly suggests a check of the sensors, Tucker becomes aggravated. He argues that three .50 caliber bullets were just removed from the hull of Enterprise's shuttlepod. He has no doubt that the starship has traveled to the past, as bullets are no longer used on Earth in the 2150s. T'Pol explains that she is not disputing the fact that Enterprise has traveled in time. She is simply trying to find a way back to 2154. She repeats that a diagnostic on the ship's systems should be completed and instructs Reed to then check for anomalies. Mayweather suggests there may be a reason why Enterprise is in the past, a possibility which T'Pol will not rule out.

Secretly, the Suliban leader Silik lurks stealthily through the corridors of Enterprise, camouflaged and undetected.



Ghrath

On Earth, a Na'kuhl officer, Ghrath, wearing the uniform of an SS obersturmführer reports to Vosk, his leader, that the Germans believe there are now more than five thousand resistance fighters. Ghrath attempts to explain Archer's escape by stating that the resistance is becoming better organized and more determined. Vosk is disappointed in the Na'kuhl officer and suggests that Ghrath should have ensured that the Starfleet captain was securely imprisoned. Vosk indicates that Archer was more than just another American prisoner and explains that he was carrying a communications device from the future. Ghrath suspects that Archer is a temporal agent, and promises that the captain will be recaptured soon.

In the captain's ready room, Tucker arrives and apologizes to T'Pol for his earlier outburst. He believes the Vulcan was too busy for his outrage on the bridge, although T'Pol understands his reaction. Like her, Tucker had expectations of finally returning to Earth after Enterprise's perilous search for the Xindi weapon. T'Pol reveals that she had been looking forward to returning to Vulcan. When Tucker remembers that captain Archer always looked for positive aspects in a dour situation, T'Pol thinks the captain would have difficulty doing so in Enterprise's present circumstances... but would try anyway. Reed enters and reports that the military dispatches picked up have told of battles being fought in Virginia and Ohio, which shouldn't be the case as the Nazis never made it to North America. The officers slowly grasp that they are in an alternate timeline, one in which events have digressed significantly from recorded history as they knew it.

In sickbay, Phlox is trying to tempt Porthos into eating chicken liver with grated cheese, the dog's favorite meal. When he accepts that Porthos won't eat the food, he wonders if the dog would like to hear a Denobulan lullaby, then decides it is more likely that Porthos would prefer to enjoy a steak and heads toward sickbay's doors, with the intention of visiting Chef. Suddenly, Phlox is surprised when a strange, grotesque figure barges through the doors and falls into the doctor's arms. Although Phlox doesn't realize it, the figure is a severely deformed Daniels, the temporal agent from the 31st century.

Meanwhile, Archer wakes up in the apartment of Alicia Travers, who is tending his wounds. She mistakes Archer for a sailor from the Enterprise, a WWII-era aircraft carrier bearing the same name, commenting that it sank in this timeline. Archer looks out of a window and sees Nazi soldiers as they patrol the barricaded, burning streets outside. When Travers informs Archer that he is in Brooklyn, New York, in 1944, the captain realizes that there is something terribly wrong with the timeline.

Act Two



The White House.

Later, in the US White House, which is draped with swastikas and guarded by German Jagdtiger tank destroyers, Vosk shows the German generalmajor a film of a Na'kuhl weapon, which uses a modulating plasma pulse to destroy a tank. The weapon, which Vosk refers to as a plasma rifle, requires a considerable amount of energy. Vosk implies that the weapon is from the future, where power is much more easily obtainable. The Na'kuhl submits requisition forms of materials which he needs. The lists include vast quantities of aluminum and carbon steel. The German general worries that the American military (as most of the country is still unoccupied) may be planning a counterattack against the Nazis. He notifies Vosk that the Germans have suffered difficulties in Africa and in Moscow, Russia. Vosk replies that the Na'kuhl weapon will ensure the Nazis are safe from any further insurrections and suggests the possibility of creating a water-based pathogen to wipe out all non-Aryans, supplanting the need for Nazi extermination camps. Vosk warns the German general to deliver the supplies which the Na'kuhl need, or their alliance will be dissolved.

Aboard Enterprise, Phlox reports the findings of his analysis of Daniels to T'Pol. Portions of the time traveler's body have aged at extremely differing rates. Although Phlox has learned that Daniels is not suffering from an infection, the doctor finds it hard to make a diagnosis. He is surprised that his patient is still alive and doubts that Daniels will survive for longer than a day. T'Pol raises the possibility that Daniels is the reason for Enterprise's time displacement and that he may hold the answer to the crew's return to 2154. The Vulcan states that she must speak to the time traveler, who is currently unconscious.

As several gangsters try to hide their identities from a group of nearby Nazi soldiers, they wander past a man whom the Nazis kill. The Germans force several other civilians into a large truck, as the gangsters enter a building.



Sal

When Alicia Travers hears a heavy knock on the door of her apartment, she takes a gun to the door to ensure her safety. She realizes that the visitors are Sal and Carmine, two of the gangsters who watched the Nazis outside. Sal notifies Travers that their friend, Vic, was arrested a few hours ago and is probably being tortured. The Gestapo are clearing out entire buildings and shooting people on the street in their search for Archer. Sal demands to know why the Nazis' search is so important and why they are being so ruthless. Archer refuses to divulge his identity, citing the confidentiality of his assignment. Sal assumes that Archer is a member of the American military, an organization which didn't defend their own country. Sal worries that Vic might succumb to the Nazis' interrogation and fears for Travers' life, if she stays in her apartment. However, Travers refuses to leave her home. The gangsters exit, attempting to find more information about Vic.



Daniels

As T'Pol enters sickbay, Phlox tells her that Daniels has regained consciousness. When the time traveler asks where Archer is, T'Pol tells him that he died destroying the Xindi weapon (as the Enterprise crew are still unaware that he was not aboard when it exploded). Daniels informs them that the Temporal Cold War is no longer a "cold" war – it has become an all-out conflict, with temporal agents trying to alter history to their own side's advantage, leading to paradoxes and turbulence in the time stream. Daniels admits that Enterprise can't return to its own time, as it didn't exist in the same way that the crew knew it before they left. Before passing out, the time traveler insists that the crew "Stop him", but T'Pol doesn't know to whom Daniels is referring.

On Earth, Ghrath informs Vosk that the Nazis are searching for Archer within a fifteen-mile radius of the area in which he escaped. They haven't found the captain, yet, although they did arrest several resistance fighters, who are now being interrogated. Ghrath suspects a particular member of the resistance of assisting with the ambush that resulted in Archer's freedom. Vosk tells the Na'kuhl officer that the Nazis have detected Enterprise and orders Ghrath to bring the suspected resistance fighter before the Na'kuhl leader.

Meanwhile, Archer has changed from his Starfleet uniform into typical attire for the time period, which are Travers' husband's clothes. He and Travers sit down to eat a meal. Travers informs Archer that her husband, whom they were talking about previously, is aboard a destroyer in the Pacific Ocean (where the war against the Japanese is going just as badly). Travers stands up again, stating that the Nazis take all the good food. She recalls seeing a German tank when the Nazis first arrived in New York. She also recalls hearing a speech on the radio by the President, vowing to persevere, shortly before the American government evacuated Washington. Archer recognizes music in the background as a recording by Billie Holiday of "My Old Flame".



Alicia Travers.

Outside Travers' apartment, she tells Archer that the Nazis outlawed "colored music", which includes songs by Billie Holiday. However, some of Travers' neighbors pass around a phonograph, or record, between each house every night, so that the Germans won't find the recording. It is their way of telling the Germans off. When Archer asks Travers about the alien Nazi, a creature with gray skin and red eyes, he learns that Travers has heard similar stories about the alien from Sal. Archer thinks that these stories may actually be factual and asks Travers if she could contact Sal.

In Enterprise's launch bay, Tucker discovers that the damaged shuttlepod's EPS conduit is "fried" and asks an engineering officer, Walsh, to retrieve a replacement EPS conduit from the injector assembly in engineering. As Tucker lies alone, attempting to repair the shuttlepod, a shadow crosses over his body. Alarmed, the engineer stands up and scans the launch bay. With a disruptor aimed at Tucker, Silik alerts the engineer to the presence of the Suliban leader. Although Silik explains that he didn't bring Enterprise back in time, he claims that the reason for the starship's travel through time is beyond Tucker's understanding. When he orders Tucker to get into the shuttlepod, the engineer is reluctant to do so. Eventually, Tucker acts as if he is about to climb aboard, shortly before he slams the shuttlepod's door onto Silik's hand. The two wrestle, with Tucker eventually attaining a hold around the Suliban's neck. However, using his shape-shifting abilities, Silik slides out of Tucker's grasp and stuns the engineer with the Suliban disruptor.

On the bridge, Mayweather notices that a shuttlepod is being launched from the depressurized launch bay. When T'Pol orders Hoshi Sato to hail the craft, Reed detects a Suliban life sign aboard – the only occupant of the shuttlepod. T'Pol, who is extremely alarmed at this news, orders Reed to fire Enterprise's phase cannons.

In space, the shuttlepod avoids any serious damage from the starship's phase cannons and slowly descends into Earth's upper atmosphere.

Act Three



Carmine

On a stairway leading down from the street to the Sixth Avenue subway line, Archer, Travers, and Carmine secretly meet to discuss the alien Nazi. Carmine agrees to let Sal know that Archer wants to talk with him. Carmine then offers Travers a hamburger, explaining that the Nazis are cutting the meat ration again, increasing the rarity – and thus also the value – of meat. Carmine tells Travers to be careful and walks away. As Archer and Travers leave after him, they pass a store called T. Purser Hardware and Plumbing. Travers explains to Archer that the Nazis have slowly decreased the amount of meat that they give to the American citizens. The Germans blame the members of the resistance for disrupting the food shipment, which makes the Nazis look like heroes, fighting to feed the American public. When Archer and Travers notice that two Nazis have spotted them, Travers tells Archer that eye contact with the Germans has been banned. Travers quickly discards the hamburger as the Nazis approach. As the Germans taunt Archer and Travers, the Starfleet captain responds to their questions with more assertiveness than Travers does. Eventually, the two Americans leave, Travers remarking that the neighborhood has worsened with the occupation of the Nazis.

On the bridge of Enterprise in the situation room, T'Pol remembers Daniels' words – "stop him". Tucker believes that the temporal agent was referring to Silik, who has escaped by disabling a transponder. However, Enterprise is detecting trace plasma signatures, probably from the minor damage that the starship's phase cannons caused. Reed believes he will be able to beam an away team to within three kilometers of where the shuttlepod landed. Tucker can't understand why Silik saved the engineer, when the Suliban could have depressurized the launch bay without removing Tucker from the room.

Archer, Travers, Carmine, and Sal hide as an American automobile rushes through a nearby street. Sal notifies Archer that curfew starts in an hour. However, Travers adds that the Nazis don't always wait for curfew, as nearby gunshots resound. Carmine and Sal don't appreciate the fact that the Nazis now dominate areas which the gangsters used to own. When Travers hints that Sal and Carmine used to be loan sharks, Sal is reluctant to tell Archer. Sal claims that he and Carmine were delegates for the Construction Workers Union before the war. When Travers informs Archer of Sal and Carmine's criminal activities, Sal is eager to continue with Archer and the other resistance fighters.



Joe Prazki.

Later, Sal advises Archer not to believe too much of Joe Prazki's claims, as Prazki is a drunk and a welsher. Prazki informs Archer that a member of the Na'kuhl regularly seeks information from him, concerning both the resistance and the Gestapo. Because Prazki is not well-informed, he invents the stories he tells the Na'kuhl man, who always wears a hat to remain hidden. Prazki adds that he caught a glimpse of the man once, and saw that the man is an alien. The drunk is not willing to arrange a meeting with Archer and the alien until Sal offers him more money. When Prazki is still reluctant to set up the meeting, Sal threatens him.

Using the transporter, Tucker and Mayweather beam into a forest near the location of the stolen shuttlepod, just outside New York City. Searching the area, they find artillery which the Nazis have been using. Tucker comments that the wooded area they have beamed into is very different from the Earth he and Mayweather are used to. When Commander Tucker detects a plasma signature, he and Mayweather start to head towards it.

In a dark alley, Sal tells Archer he is certain that the resistance effort is succeeding. The gangster remarks at the diversity of people who have joined the effort and seems particularly impressed with the aiming accuracy of some of the women resistance fighters. Archer and Sal watch a Nazi dressed in a black fedora and trenchcoat round a corner and come into full view of the Americans. Sal hands Archer a loaded gun shortly before the captain heads towards the Nazi. Because Archer is wearing a cap, the Nazi, who can only see Archer's silhouette in the dark, assumes that the captain is Joe Prazki. When the alien realizes that the silhouette actually belongs to Archer, the Nazi raises his gun. Alicia, Sal, and Carmine intervene and force the alien to surrender. When they push the Nazi into a lit section of the alley, they found out that the Nazi is actually an alien in a black fedora and trenchcoat, Carmine is shocked at the Nazi's alien appearance. The "alien" is Ghrath.

Meanwhile, Tucker and Mayweather have found the crashed shuttlepod, damaged and deserted. The Starfleet officers enter the craft and Tucker contacts Enterprise, unsure of whether the shuttlepod will be able to gain altitude.

Elsewhere, Sal and Carmine discuss their shock at seeing the alien Nazi's appearance. While Archer searches Ghrath, the captain finds an alien communications device. He attempts to interrogate the Nazi, but Ghrath refuses to talk. Eventually, the alien informs Archer that the Na'kuhl know the captain is from the future and have detected Enterprise in Earth orbit. Ghrath claims that the Na'kuhl are trapped in 1944 and are using the help of the German Nazis to construct a time conduit to get back. When a siren begins blaring and the shuffle of soldier's boots approaches, Sal shoots the alien three times in the midsection, killing him, as Alicia and the men flee the scene.

Act Four



The away team contact Enterprise.

Satisfied that Tucker has adequately assessed the damage to the shuttlepod, he and Mayweather walk away from the craft. Tucker contacts Enterprise and notifies T'Pol that the shuttlepod won't be able to fly. On the bridge of the starship, Reed informs T'Pol that several vehicles are approaching Mayweather and Tucker. Tucker overhears Reed and reports that "Plan B" is in progress. The engineer is frustrated that Silik has not been found, but T'Pol assures Tucker that the Suliban leader will be caught.

When Sal and Carmine begin to question if Archer is from the future, the captain tells them that he was born in upstate New York. Suddenly, Archer, Travers, Sal, and Carmine grow suspicious when they realize that many people are watching them in the dark. Suddenly, the Americans are ambushed by Nazi soldiers. Carmine escapes, but Sal is gunned down in the street by machine gun fire. Archer and Travers flee in a running gun battle down an alley. There, Archer frantically tries to contact Enterprise with Ghrath's communication device, while Travers tries to shoot the pursuing Nazis, screaming at Archer that the help he's calling for will never reach them in time.

Meanwhile, Tucker has set up explosive charges in the shuttlepod, so that the Nazis won't be able to use the technology aboard the craft. A deployment of Nazi soldiers with Alsatian dogs approach, so Tucker and Mayweather hide. When the Nazis find and enter the shuttlepod, Tucker detonates the charges, causing the craft to explode. Mayweather and Tucker are chased down a hill by a Nazi vehicle and are soon surrounded.

On the bridge of Enterprise, Malcolm reports that the damaged shuttlepod has been destroyed. Sato adds that the explosion of the shuttlepod has interrupted the starship's communication with the away team. However, she also picks up another signal – although the transmission is weak. Intrigued, T'Pol orders it put on speakers – and to the utter astonishment of everyone on the bridge, the voice on the other end is Captain Archer, having finally gotten through to the ship.

However, Archer is pinned down in the alley as Vosk approaches, ordering the two Americans to surrender, which at which point they emerge from the shadows with their hands up. Just before Vosk reached them, however, Archer had been able to contact T'Pol and order a beam-out, and when Vosk informs Archer that they have much to discuss, the captain replies that there would be another time as he and Alicia are transported safely to the ship. Vosk furiously fires a machine gun at their previous location, realizing that Archer has escaped again.

Materializing aboard Enterprise, Alicia is amazed at the capability of the transporter. When she wonders how the device works, Archer claims that the transporter is complicated. She asks Archer to promise her they won't have to go through it again. Together, they step off the transporter platform and head for the bridge.

There, the crew welcomes back their captain, who asks a speechless T'Pol to brief him on Enterprise's situation.

As T'Pol and the captain walk through a corridor, the Vulcan informs Archer that the away team destroyed the shuttlepod shortly before they went missing. The captain orders the continuation of the search for Tucker and Mayweather and shows T'Pol the Na'kuhl communication device. He wants her to disassemble the device and find out how to monitor the Nazis' transmissions.

In sickbay, Daniels informs Archer that his main nemesis is Vosk, who must be destroyed, along with his time conduit, a massive device being built with 20th century technology. The Na'kuhl used a one-way stealth time travel device to travel to 1944 just before Daniels and his fellow agents could capture him and are now constructing the temporal conduit to return to their own time. Archer has been sent back to this point in time because it is here (now) that Vosk can be stopped, in order to restore the proper timeline and erase the Temporal War from history. Uttering his final words – "stop him", which the crew now understands refers to Vosk – Daniels dies.

On Earth, Vosk informs Tucker and Mayweather that the Nazis haven't managed to detain Captain Archer. The Na'kuhl leader prepares to question the Starfleet officers as potential temporal agents. Mayweather and Tucker are led out of the room, as Vosk tells their Nazi guards that he will be "supervising another test".

Vosk walks through a long hall, which overlooks the massive time conduit, as production on the conduit continues posthaste.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .(SEE STORMFRONT PART II)

Deleted scene

The Season 4 DVD includes a deleted scene, set while waiting for Ghrath, in which Sal, after offering Archer a puff from what could be the "last Cuban in the city" – after he declines, Sal insists that Archer doesn't know what he's missing, to which the captain responds that he has a pretty good idea – brings up stories he'd heard about the Germans doing medical experiments on people, and suggests that the Na'kuhl Archer saw was probably the result of one of those tests. He also speaks of "weird stuff goin' around", such as rumors of "guns that shoot light instead of bullets" and "turn people into dust" – like something "that guy Orson Welles" would tell. When Archer recognizes it as War of the Worlds, Sal admits to Archer that he was one of the many people who, believing the radio performance to be an actual newscast, fled in panic – though after what's happened since, he almost wishes Martians had landed on Earth. Coincidentally, Welles was married to Rita Hayworth, who is mentioned by the German SS officer in this episode, from 1943 to 1948.

Memorable quotes

"Those are P-51s! I've seen them at air shows!"
"I don't think this is an air show."

- Mayweather and Tucker, realizing something is very, very wrong

"Americans are good at making movies. They're not so good at fighting."

- German officer, to Captain Archer, as they are riding in the back of a truck

"You know, in Hollywood movies, Americans always win. Too bad for you you're not in a movie."

- German officer, to Archer

"This isn't a damn sensor glitch! We just pulled three .50 caliber bullets from the shuttlepod hull... and spare us the official Vulcan position about time travel – we are two hundred years in the past; face it!"

- Tucker, to T'Pol

"Maybe we're here for a reason. Maybe this wasn't an accident."

- Mayweather, to T'Pol

"I've been going over those military dispatches that Hoshi picked up. Some of them don't make sense - they mention recent battles in Virginia and Ohio! There weren't any battles fought there in World War II, the Nazis never got to North America – something's very wrong down there."

- Reed, discovering the situation is worse than they thought

"What year is this?"
(Somewhat incredulous) "It's 1944..."
"World War II."
"Haven't heard it called that before, but that's as good a description as any... used to be a pretty nice neighborhood, even for coloreds. As you can see, it's gone downhill."
"Where are we?"
"We in Brooklyn... New York City?"

- Archer and Alicia Travers, after he comes to

"There is far too much at stake for us to argue, and we have far too much in common. We both embrace the ideals of purity and perfection, and we both face enemies that would destroy us."

- Vosk, to the German generalmajor

"How do we return to our century?"
"You can't. It doesn't exist – not the way you know it. Neither does mine. It's all gone. You have to stop him."
"Stop who? Daniels... stop who?"

- T'Pol and Daniels, just before he loses consciousness

"I still can't believe it... you know, that they're actually... here. I'll never forget the... the day I saw that first German tank rolling up Flatbush. All the people streaming across the Brooklyn Bridge, trying to get out of Manhattan. The President on the radio, vowing to persevere, right before the government evacuated Washington."

- Alicia Travers, relating her memories of the German invasion to Archer

"I'm gonna ask you something – it's gonna sound a little strange..."
"What else is new?"
"When I was in a German medical tent, one of the soldiers who came in to see me...wasn't like the other ones. He had gray skin, red eyes... he wasn't Human..." (Telling by the look on her face) "This isn't the first time you've heard something like this..."

- Archer and Travers

"Like I said, neighborhood's gone downhill."

- Travers, to Archer after their run-in with a pair of Nazi soldiers

"Thing I can't understand – why'd he go to the trouble of saving my life? He pulled me out of the launch bay before he depressurized it."
"Another item on our list of things to ponder."

- Tucker and Reed, wondering about Silik's motives

"Can't get used to all this skulkin' around..."
"I know what you mean... we used to own this neighborhood!"
"Yeah, well, tell him what you guys did before the war..."
"Nothin' to tell! We were delegates, to the Construction Workers' Union"
"Right, the loan sharking was just a 'part-time job'"
"Hey, we helped people get out of financial difficulty – since when is that a crime?"
"When they didn't pay you back on time – that's where the crime part came in!"

- Carmine and Sal explaining their lives before the war, and Travers revealing the truth

"Just shut up and tell him."
"I can't talk and shut up at the same time."

- Carmine and Joe Prazki

"What was that back there?"
"That was an extraterrestrial."
"A Martian?"
"I don't know what planet he was from."
"Where are you from?"
"Upstate New York."

- Sal and Archer

"Whoever you're calling, they're not gonna get here in time!!!"

- Travers, to Archer, with no comprehension of the method they would use to escape, which made "getting there" unnecessary

"I'm picking up another signal. It's faint."
"Let's hear it."
"Captain Archer to Enterprise. Come in. Enterprise, come in."
"Captain?"

- Hoshi Sato, T'Pol, and Archer

"We have a great deal to talk about."
"It'll have to wait."

- Vosk and Archer, just before Enterprise beams Archer and Travers to safety

"You're all right – you're on my ship."
"How'd we get here?"
"It's kinda complicated..."
"Promise you won't make me do that again..."

- Archer and Travers, safely aboard Enterprise

"I've sent you to this point because it's here where Vosk can be stopped. If you succeed, the war will never happen – the timeline will be restored."

- Daniels, on his deathbed, to Captain Archer

"Your colleague has managed to evade us. I assure you, whatever I want to know you'll tell me... gratefully."

- Vosk, to his new captives: Tucker and Mayweather