Captain Archer puts a polish on his worst manners to welcome aboard a delegation of Tellarites. The Enterprise is ferrying the Tellarite ambassador and his staff to a peace conference with the Andorians on the planet Babel. En route to the summit, however, the Enterprise receives a distress call from an Andorian ship and responds as quickly as possible. When the Enterprise gets there, the ship has been destroyed, and only a few life pods remain. Captain Shran, Archer’s occasional ally, was commanding the doomed vessel, and claims that a powerful Tellarite ship was behind the attack. He’s also incensed to discover that there is a Tellarite delegation aboard the Enterprise, and the Andorian captain makes is clear that he’s out for blood. The Enterprise itself is soon attacked by an Andorian ship, but T’Pol spots something unusual in the sensor readings – this Andorian attacker’s energy profile matches the readings given off by the Tellarite warship that destroyed Shran’s ship. The Enterprise puts up a fight and eventually the Andorian ship breaks off and falls back. Archer doubles back to confirm his growing suspicions, and the ship that the Enterprise eventually finds is neither Andorian nor Tellarite – and it seems to have no life support or crew. Trip, Reed, and a small squadron of MACOs board the damaged ship in environment suits, but when it appears that the ship is undergoing repairs and beginning the move again, the MACOs are beamed back to the Enterprise – and Trip and Reed are stranded with only the breathable air in their suits.
written by Michael Sussman & Andre Bormanis
directed by David Straiton
music by Paul BaillargeonGuest Cast: Jeffrey Combs (Shran), Lee Arenberg (Gral), Brian Thompson (Valdore), J. Michael Flynn (Nijil), Molly Brink (Talas), Kevin Brief (Naarg), Jermaine Soto (MACO Crewmember)
Note: Mere days after this episode aired, UPN announced the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise.
LogBook entry by Earl Green