Post by magicmuggle01 on Sept 27, 2018 10:15:04 GMT
An Enterprise landing party believes T'Pol is conspiring with a species of rock creatures on a strange class M planet.
Summary
While headed for an unnamed nebula, Enterprise NX-01 unexpectedly passes an unknown planet with an Earth-like atmosphere and surface. T'Pol designates this type of planet as Minshara-class. Sensor scans of the planet reveal no sign of intelligent lifeforms.
The surface of Archer IV
An away team comprised of Captain Archer, T'Pol, Malcolm Reed, Trip Tucker, Travis Mayweather, Elizabeth Cutler, and Ethan Novakovich travels to the surface by shuttlepod. After a few hours of exploration, the captain and Reed return to Enterprise, while the rest stay on the surface overnight for scientific investigation (though Tucker and Mayweather stay more for personal interest).
After some time telling ghost stories, a storm emerges and the surface crew needs to take shelter in a nearby cave. While T'Pol and Tucker are discussing how to settle in the cave, Novakovich notices movement in the back of the cave. When Mayweather goes back to the original camping site to recover food which they had forgotten, he as well sees a few seemingly humanoid lifeforms wandering around outside. As he tells this to the rest of the crew on his return Novakovich seems to lose his mind and runs away out of the cave. Tucker and Mayweather try to follow and search for Novakovich, to no avail. However, Tucker briefly notices a lifeform which apparently emerges out of a rock and sinks back in again.
Meanwhile T'Pol has gone to explore the deeper parts of the cave, leaving only Cutler behind, who does not feel at ease about it at all, and eventually decides to go after T'Pol. When she nears T'Pol, she finds her talking to a few lifeforms, but by the time the two actually meet there is no one else there anymore and T'Pol denies any meeting. They go back to the front of the cave where they meet Tucker and Mayweather again and hear about the rock body. Cutler then tells about T'Pol's meeting but the latter denies again. The others do not believe her and are becoming suspicious about the away mission as the prolongation was specifically upon the instigation of T'Pol.
Early transporter malfunction
The captain finally decides to get the away team back to Enterprise but the shuttle is unable to land due to the storm. The away team is then forced back in the cave for the night. However, since Novakovich would not go in the cave with the others, it is decided to use the still experimental transporter to bring him back. The transporter is unable to distinguish between Novakovich and the plant life being blown around him, several leaves are embedded in his skin as a result. Following that, Phlox discovers that he has been affected by a kind of local pollen brought by the storm (and that the others could be affected as well).
This is followed by a phase where the state of all the members of the away team becomes more serious. Tucker become quite delusional and keeps pointing a phase-pistol at T'Pol and shooting at the rocks. Meanwhile, on board Enterprise Phlox discovers that the pollen has a poisonous effect, creating the need to transport an antidote (as well as a sedative) to the team on the planet. The tension reaches its maximum in T'Pol and Tucker pointing a phase-pistol at each other.
Finally, the captain, unable to reason with Tucker, resorts to elaborating on Tucker's delusions. This way T'Pol – who is being given instructions by Hoshi Sato because she has fallen back to her native speech, suggesting that she has been affected as well, only able to control it better – is finally able to overwhelm Tucker. She then proceeds to administer the antidote to all members of the away team, herself included.
The next morning, the storm is over, everyone is fine and the planet is as beautiful as it was the day before, making the previous night look like a bad dream.
Memorable quotes
"You expect us to sit up here for a week while probes have all the fun?"
- Trip Tucker
"You'd have better luck making friends with a housefly."
- Tucker to Cutler after she tries being friendly to T'Pol
"Where no dog has gone before."
- Tucker, following Porthos' ebullient departure from the shuttlepod and marking his territory at a nearby tree
"You have your assignments. We'll rendezvous here at 1900 hours... unless the captain wants us to pose for more pictures."
- T'Pol
"It's beautiful all right but I couldn't call a place home unless it came with a pair of warp nacelles."
"Boomers."
- Mayweather and Tucker while on the planet
"Who's there? Who is that?!"
"This is Captain Archer. We're attempting to land. I want you to get back to the cavern."
"Go to Hell!"
- Novakovich and Archer
"Let me guess... no ghost stories on Vulcan?"
- Tucker, to T'Pol
"Looks like we might have ourselves a bit of weather!"
- Tucker, on the planetary storm
"That's it. To the left of that trinary cluster."
"What?"
"Our sun."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I'm positive. Just another speck of light... no different than any other."
- Cutler, Tucker and Mayweather, looking up at the stars
"Give me your boot."
"What for?"
"So I can squash it."
"Are we allowed to squash alien lifeforms?"
"If they're inside your sleeping bag. There it is. Wait a minute. Where'd you put the phase-pistols?"
"You wanna shoot a bug?"
"I'm just gonna stun it."
- Tucker and Mayweather
"Your emotions are beginning to affect your judgment. You're becoming irrational."
"You've never seen me irrational."
- T'Pol and Tucker
"I can survive without water for several days. Can you?"
- T'Pol, to Tucker
"I have no idea what you just said... but it didn't sound very nice!"
- Tucker, after T'Pol speaks to him in Vulcan
"And I have a phase-pistol pointed at my head."
- T'Pol
"Under stress, you become volatile. You're a far more dangerous species than I previously believed."
"Your people have been telling us that kind of crap for a hundred years!"
- T'Pol and Tucker
"Say one more word of that gibberish, and I'm gonna split you in two."
- Tucker, to T'Pol who speaks in Vulcan
"Hope she knows the difference between stun and kill."
- Archer moments before T'Pol fires her phase-pistol at Tucker to subdue him
"Challenge your preconceptions or they'll challenge you."
"Commander?"
"That's something Mr. Velik used to say. Tenth grade biology class. He was a Vulcan scientist who came to teach us about life on other worlds. I'd never seen a Vulcan before... not up close. He scared the hell out of me."
"Perhaps it's not too late to follow his advice."
- Tucker and T'Pol
Summary
While headed for an unnamed nebula, Enterprise NX-01 unexpectedly passes an unknown planet with an Earth-like atmosphere and surface. T'Pol designates this type of planet as Minshara-class. Sensor scans of the planet reveal no sign of intelligent lifeforms.
The surface of Archer IV
An away team comprised of Captain Archer, T'Pol, Malcolm Reed, Trip Tucker, Travis Mayweather, Elizabeth Cutler, and Ethan Novakovich travels to the surface by shuttlepod. After a few hours of exploration, the captain and Reed return to Enterprise, while the rest stay on the surface overnight for scientific investigation (though Tucker and Mayweather stay more for personal interest).
After some time telling ghost stories, a storm emerges and the surface crew needs to take shelter in a nearby cave. While T'Pol and Tucker are discussing how to settle in the cave, Novakovich notices movement in the back of the cave. When Mayweather goes back to the original camping site to recover food which they had forgotten, he as well sees a few seemingly humanoid lifeforms wandering around outside. As he tells this to the rest of the crew on his return Novakovich seems to lose his mind and runs away out of the cave. Tucker and Mayweather try to follow and search for Novakovich, to no avail. However, Tucker briefly notices a lifeform which apparently emerges out of a rock and sinks back in again.
Meanwhile T'Pol has gone to explore the deeper parts of the cave, leaving only Cutler behind, who does not feel at ease about it at all, and eventually decides to go after T'Pol. When she nears T'Pol, she finds her talking to a few lifeforms, but by the time the two actually meet there is no one else there anymore and T'Pol denies any meeting. They go back to the front of the cave where they meet Tucker and Mayweather again and hear about the rock body. Cutler then tells about T'Pol's meeting but the latter denies again. The others do not believe her and are becoming suspicious about the away mission as the prolongation was specifically upon the instigation of T'Pol.
Early transporter malfunction
The captain finally decides to get the away team back to Enterprise but the shuttle is unable to land due to the storm. The away team is then forced back in the cave for the night. However, since Novakovich would not go in the cave with the others, it is decided to use the still experimental transporter to bring him back. The transporter is unable to distinguish between Novakovich and the plant life being blown around him, several leaves are embedded in his skin as a result. Following that, Phlox discovers that he has been affected by a kind of local pollen brought by the storm (and that the others could be affected as well).
This is followed by a phase where the state of all the members of the away team becomes more serious. Tucker become quite delusional and keeps pointing a phase-pistol at T'Pol and shooting at the rocks. Meanwhile, on board Enterprise Phlox discovers that the pollen has a poisonous effect, creating the need to transport an antidote (as well as a sedative) to the team on the planet. The tension reaches its maximum in T'Pol and Tucker pointing a phase-pistol at each other.
Finally, the captain, unable to reason with Tucker, resorts to elaborating on Tucker's delusions. This way T'Pol – who is being given instructions by Hoshi Sato because she has fallen back to her native speech, suggesting that she has been affected as well, only able to control it better – is finally able to overwhelm Tucker. She then proceeds to administer the antidote to all members of the away team, herself included.
The next morning, the storm is over, everyone is fine and the planet is as beautiful as it was the day before, making the previous night look like a bad dream.
Memorable quotes
"You expect us to sit up here for a week while probes have all the fun?"
- Trip Tucker
"You'd have better luck making friends with a housefly."
- Tucker to Cutler after she tries being friendly to T'Pol
"Where no dog has gone before."
- Tucker, following Porthos' ebullient departure from the shuttlepod and marking his territory at a nearby tree
"You have your assignments. We'll rendezvous here at 1900 hours... unless the captain wants us to pose for more pictures."
- T'Pol
"It's beautiful all right but I couldn't call a place home unless it came with a pair of warp nacelles."
"Boomers."
- Mayweather and Tucker while on the planet
"Who's there? Who is that?!"
"This is Captain Archer. We're attempting to land. I want you to get back to the cavern."
"Go to Hell!"
- Novakovich and Archer
"Let me guess... no ghost stories on Vulcan?"
- Tucker, to T'Pol
"Looks like we might have ourselves a bit of weather!"
- Tucker, on the planetary storm
"That's it. To the left of that trinary cluster."
"What?"
"Our sun."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I'm positive. Just another speck of light... no different than any other."
- Cutler, Tucker and Mayweather, looking up at the stars
"Give me your boot."
"What for?"
"So I can squash it."
"Are we allowed to squash alien lifeforms?"
"If they're inside your sleeping bag. There it is. Wait a minute. Where'd you put the phase-pistols?"
"You wanna shoot a bug?"
"I'm just gonna stun it."
- Tucker and Mayweather
"Your emotions are beginning to affect your judgment. You're becoming irrational."
"You've never seen me irrational."
- T'Pol and Tucker
"I can survive without water for several days. Can you?"
- T'Pol, to Tucker
"I have no idea what you just said... but it didn't sound very nice!"
- Tucker, after T'Pol speaks to him in Vulcan
"And I have a phase-pistol pointed at my head."
- T'Pol
"Under stress, you become volatile. You're a far more dangerous species than I previously believed."
"Your people have been telling us that kind of crap for a hundred years!"
- T'Pol and Tucker
"Say one more word of that gibberish, and I'm gonna split you in two."
- Tucker, to T'Pol who speaks in Vulcan
"Hope she knows the difference between stun and kill."
- Archer moments before T'Pol fires her phase-pistol at Tucker to subdue him
"Challenge your preconceptions or they'll challenge you."
"Commander?"
"That's something Mr. Velik used to say. Tenth grade biology class. He was a Vulcan scientist who came to teach us about life on other worlds. I'd never seen a Vulcan before... not up close. He scared the hell out of me."
"Perhaps it's not too late to follow his advice."
- Tucker and T'Pol
