posted
Okay, I apologize in advance if this isn't as thorough or insightful a report as Mark would have given, but I hope it will suffice...
This (along with "First Flight") was one fairly-frelling-cool ep. Some neat tech, too.
Timestamp: March 21st, 2153
After spending three days exploring (and taking shore leave on) an uninhabited planet, the NX-01 encounters a surprise visitor. Captain Skalaar, who claims to be a member of the Tellarite Mining Consortium. Skalaar puts on the appearance of being just another enjoyer of the planet's climate and terrain, and offers to point out some spots of interest to Archer and Trip. His ship, which Malcolm identified from the Vulcan database, is an appropriate-looking rust bucket that I don't recognize, so I think it's a new CG model. (If I'm wrong about this, please let me know. Having not kept up with VGR, there's probably a fair heap of designs I wouldn't recognize.)
The Tellarite makeup has been fairly-tastefully updated (although IMO they went slightly overboard with the facial wrinkles) in a similar manner to that of the Andorians. The clothes have that distinct pattern on them, too, but more subtle than seen on the TOS costumes.
Skalaar docks with the NX-01 and when Trip and Archer come down to greet him, he pulls a phaser on them, zaps Tucker immediately, struggles with Archer a bit before overcoming him, and then blasts off with the Captain on board. As he flees, Skalaar disables the starboard nacelle so the ship can't follow until repairs are made. (How rude! )
Shortly after, T'Pol and Phlox come back aboard from the planet surface and discover they have been infected with a microbe that Phlox believes they piced up from some native marsupials, and have to spend some time in decon so they don't spread it to the rest of the crew. A curtain has been installed in the decon chamber because apparently not everyone feels comfortable disrobing in front of their crewmates. (Go figure...according to Phlox, Denobulan males are more inhibited in these situations than females.) We literally get to see more of Phlox than ever before, as he undresses to apply a decon gel. He's got sort of bruise-like patterns of (dis)coloration on his chest, and an interesting spinal pattern on his back.
Archer awakes aboard the Tellarite ship to find himself trapped within a cool-yellow-glowy holding field. He discovers that Skalaar is actually a bounty hunter seeking the reward that the Klingons have placed on Archer since the incident in "Judgment." He is taking Archer to one Captain Goroth in exchange for 9,000 darseks. Skalaar doesn't know what Archer is accused of, and he says he doesn't care to know. Neither is he affected by Archer's attempts to talk his way out of the situation.
NX-01 completes repairs on the nacelle and gets a fix on Skalaar's warp signature, but when they track it down it turns out to be a subspace decoy beacon designed to throw them off the track. This fairly irritates Trip and Reed, and the latter rather enthusiastically blows the beacon up with the phase cannon.
Meanwhile, it turns out that the microbe has prematurely triggered T'Pol's pon farr cycle, and she starts trying to rub Phlox in a way that I wouldn't exaclty call "wrong," ( ) but one that Phlox isn't comfortable with, at any rate. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it's always been tacitly understood that only Vulcan males go through this. What gives? Oh well...I suppose them's the brakes. Can't have everything, can we....
Skalaar and Archer are intercepted by a rival bounty hunter named Kago, of another alien race with another (I think) new ship design that's bigger and more heavily gunned. He, of course, wants the reward for himself. A firefight ensues, and Skalaar is forced to let Archer out to help pilot the ship while they fend off the attacker. Since they can't outrun Kago, they drop out of warp and descend into the atmosphere of a class-L planet (somebody was reading Star Charts, because the appearance of both the atmosphere and surface matches the description there) where a really cool air battle sequence takes place. They eventually confuse Kago with one of the decoy beacons and damage his ship, forcing him down. However, Skalaar's ship's main reactor is also damaged, and since it can only be accessed from outside the vessel, they too must land on the surface. (Fortunately, they take the precaution of setting down 1,000 km away from where Kago crashed.)
While making repairs on the surface, Archer and Skalaar speak some, and we find out that the Tellarite is a former freighter captain whose sole purpose in chasing fugitives is working to buy his beloved old ship, the Tezra, back from the Klingons. (This is in sharp contrast to Kago, who would waste the reward on something such as Orion slave girls. ) The Tezra (which we never see, only hear about) was "the first of her class, the fastest ever built," and could haul 1 million metric tonnes at Warp 4.5. She was impounded when Skalaar and his brother (who we meet later) took an unwelcome shortcut across Klingon space while hauling a cargo of fire salt.
While Skalaar is relating all of this to Archer, the Captain is furtively sabotaging the engines of the ship. However, Skalaar discovers this before the job is complete, and they are soon on their way once more to the rendezvous with Goroth. (The class-L planet is approximately 6 light-years from the border.) However, they are badly in need of an antimatter injector, so en route Skalaar stops at a tired-looking space station of considerable size, busy with a great many ships, (among them are a Vulcan D'Kyr-type combat cruiser, as well as a Vahklas-type, what I think is a Y-class freighter, and a number of others that are too small to identify in the shot due to the distance) where his brother works. His brother has never forgiven him for the Klingon incident, and he somewhat crushes Skalaar's hopes when he informs him that the Tezra has been cannibalized by the Klingons and is of no use any more.
This blow to Skalaar gives Archer the opportunity he needs to win over the Tellarite. He plays on Skalaar's anger towards the Klingons and proposes a plan that will help them both....
Meantime, back on the NX-01, T'Pol has moved past the horny phase into the blood fever phase and is generally freaking out. Phlox tries to sedate her, but she escapes from the decon area and begins roaming the ship. Phlox has Reed seal off E-deck and send in a security team in EV suits (because she's still capable of transmitting the microbes) that eventually manages to subdue her, but not before she attempts (not *quite* successfully) to seduce Malcolm.
Archer and Skalaar meet Goroth's ship. It is another quite cool *NEW* design! However, IMO it looks more Romulan-ish than Klingon. However, it seems to be consistent with the idea that these two races have long used similar design ethics. (I am more and more convinced that there is a very long history of tech exchange between them, even earlier than this.) Skalaar "hands" Archer over to Goroth in handcuffs, and receives payment. (Which by now has been lowered to 6,000 darseks.) But when Archer is left alone in a holding cell, he produces a key and unlocks the handcuffs Amidala-style. Hidden in the cuffs is a small device which trips the cell door mechanism and allows Archer to escape. He wrestles with several Klingons who carry pistols that are (coolly so) reminiscent of the TOS sonic disruptors. He fights his way to an escape pod (I thought Klingon ships didn't have them ) and jettisons. The Klingons come about to recapture him, but in the meantime Skalaar has contacted the NX-01 and it arrives to snatch the pod with the grappler and disable Goroth's vessel. (Which is, while dwarfing the tiny Tellarite craft, much smaller than the Enterprise.)
The T'Pol odreal comes to an end when Phlox is able to purge the microbe infection that was causing the unnatural mating drive.
Skalaar is left free to go about his business, confident that the Klingons won't catch on to his deceit. He intends to look for another old freighter for sale, and in parting he warns Archer that the Klingons will probably double the price on Archer's head.
And that, as they say, is that.
-MMoM
-------------------- The flaws we find most objectionable in others are often those we recognize in ourselves.
Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by The Mighty Monkey of Mim: Skalaar is left free to go about his business, confident that the Klingons won't catch on to his deceit. He intends to look for another old freighter for sale, and in parting he warns Archer that the Klingons will probably double the price on Archer's head.
You know this makes me sick... this is a perfect excuse to continue having storylines with the Klingons and start a war with them which will lead to the issues in the future encounters.
-------------------- Later, J _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ The Last Person to post in the late Voyager Forum. Bashing both Voyager, Enterprise, and "The Bun" in one glorious post.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
) ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
) but one that Phlox isn't comfortable with, at any rate. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it's always been tacitly understood that only Vulcan males go through this. What gives? Oh well...I suppose them's the brakes. Can't have everything, can we....![[Wink]](wink.gif)
) The Tezra (which we never see, only hear about) was "the first of her class, the fastest ever built," and could haul 1 million metric tonnes at Warp 4.5. She was impounded when Skalaar and his brother (who we meet later) took an unwelcome shortcut across Klingon space while hauling a cargo of fire salt. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
) and jettisons. The Klingons come about to recapture him, but in the meantime Skalaar has contacted the NX-01 and it arrives to snatch the pod with the grappler and disable Goroth's vessel. (Which is, while dwarfing the tiny Tellarite craft, much smaller than the Enterprise.)![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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