Kir’Shara

The Enterprise races to Andorian space. Soval cryptically leads Trip to a location where Vulcan intelligence says Commander Shran’s task group is hiding; Trip hopes that Shran will listen to the warning about the impending Vulcan attack more readily than any other Andorians. Shran is naturally suspicious, and when Soval mentions that the Vulcan High Command is planning the attack based on intelligence that the Andorians are arming their ships with Xindi weapons of mass destruction, Shran denies it. The Andorian returns to his ship and then kidnaps Soval via transporter, torturing him to make sure that the tip about the Vulcan attack is accurate. On Vulcan, V’Las has directed his forces to stop trying to capture the Syrrannites – and to start trying to eradicate them completely. Reassured that Soval is telling the truth – at the cost of much pain to the ambassador – Shran convinces the High Command to head off the Vulcan assault force. Trip puts the Enterprise between the two fleets, trying to stop a war, but it quickly becomes apparent that, despite the fact that no illegal weapons are detected in use by the Andorian fleet, someone is all to ready to take plunge an entire quadrant of the galaxy into war, regardless of the evidence, the consequences, or the truth.

written by Michael Sussman
directed by David Livingston
music by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner

Guest Cast: Robert Foxworth (V’Las), Jeffrey Combs (Shran), John Rubinstein (Kuvak), Gary Graham (Soval), Michael Reilly Burke (Koss), Kara Zediker (T’Pau), Todd Stashwick (Talok), Jack Donner (Vulcan Priest), Melodee M. Spevack (Andorian Com Voice)

Notes: T’Pau reveals that the “disease” T’Pol contracted from her mind meld in Fusion is an easily-corrected condition whose supposed “severity” has been exaggerated by the High Command in order to discourage the practice. This would appear to explain why Spock and Tuvok, among others, have never suffered from the same disorder. Soval mentions a chapter of Vulcan history involving the city of Gol; presumably that’s also the origin of the Stone of Gol, a Vulcan artifact of immense power which was the subject of an intense search in the Next Generation episode Gambit. Actor Robert Foxworth previously appeared as Admiral Layton in the Deep Space Nine episodes Homefront and Paradise Lost, a guest appearance which led to the demise of his recurring Babylon 5 character General Hague (he was double-booked by his agent for both SF series at the same time and chose to appear on Star Trek).