Minefield

Malcolm gets a breakfast invitation from Captain Archer, but the security chief finds himself nervous the whole time. A call from the bridge saves Malcolm from the awkward situation, and then plunges him into a deadly one – the Enterprise strikes a mine which has somehow been cloaked, remaining invisible until it’s too late, causing major damage to the ship. A second mine adheres to the hull, giving the crew an opportunity to study it and learn how to detect other cloaked mines, but this one is still live and could blow at any moment, destroying the Enterprise. Archer orders the ship brought to a halt and Malcolm insists on going out on the hull to defuse the mine. When he tries, however, it springs an additional attachment to fasten itself even more tightly to the Enterprise and lances through Malcolm’s leg in the process. Archer suits up to help him, but while the captain is outside the ship, T’Pol has to deal with a new problem – the minelayers have returned, identifying themselves as Romulans and insisting that the Enterprise withdraw from their territory immediately or be destroyed.

written by John Shiban
directed by James Contner
music by David Bell

Guest Cast: Timothy Glenn (Med Tech), Elizabeth Magness (Injured crewmember)

Notes: Minefield actually adheres quite closely to established Star Trek continuity. It was mentioned in Balance Of Terror (1966) that no one in Starfleet had seen the face of a Romulan prior to that incident involving Kirk’s Enterprise, but no one mentioned whether or not the Romulans’ ships had been seen before.