[Sickbay]
(Archer
wheels T'Pol in on a trolley.)
ARCHER: She's coming to!
T'POL: Let me go. Let me go! (She tries to strangle Archer.)
ARCHER: Stop.
T'POL: I'll kill you.
ARCHER: We're not going to hurt you.
T'POL: You liar! No! Get away from me. (T'Pol screams as she's strapped down.)
PHLOX: The damage is more severe than I expected.
ARCHER: Can you reverse it?
PHLOX: I'm not certain. T'Pol (tries to dodge the hypospray.)
T'POL: What's he doing?
ARCHER: It's all right. He's trying to help you.
T'POL: He's trying to kill me! You killed the others. Murderers! Get
away! (She screams until Archer holds her head and she is finally sedated,
then she is rolled into the Imaging Chamber.)
One
Day Earlier
[Command
Centre]
TUCKER:
I talked with Chef at dinner. He's a little worried about the crew.
People are skipping meals. He figures they're either too busy or the
stress of this mission is starting to get to them.
ARCHER: I haven't had much of an appetite myself.
TUCKER: Movie night's been on hold since we entered the Expanse. Maybe
we should start it up again?
ARCHER: There'll be plenty of time for movies after we've dealt with
the Xindi.
TUCKER: No one hates the Xindi more than I do, Captain, but I'm telling
you this crew needs a little R and R. Unless you want Phlox to start
medicating people, we gotta, we've gotta find a way to boost morale.
ARCHER: What did you have in mind?
TUCKER: I was thinking about a comedy. One of the classic Hope and
Crosby pictures.
ARCHER: Good choice.
T'POL: Captain.
ARCHER: We've been reviewing some of these Xindi star charts. Trip
thought they might be able to help us figure out if there are any more
spatial anomalies in the region.
T'POL: I would have helped you do that.
ARCHER: It's late. I didn't want to get you out of bed. Besides, our
resident insomniac was looking for something to do.
TUCKER: You have plans Tuesday night?
T'POL: Not at the moment.
TUCKER: Mess hall, nineteen hundred hours.
T'POL: Movie night?
TUCKER: Back by popular demand.
HOSHI: [OC]: Bridge to Captain Archer.
ARCHER: Go ahead.
[Bridge]
HOSHI:
I'm picking up an automated distress call, sir. It's Vulcan.
[Command
Centre]
ARCHER:
Have you tried hailing them?
HOSHI [OC]: Several times.
ARCHER: I'm on my way.
[Bridge]
ARCHER:
Where are they?
HOSHI: Three point two light years, bearing oh one six mark twelve.
T'POL: I recognise the transponder frequency. It's the Seleya. They
entered the Expanse nine months ago.
ARCHER: Keep hailing them. Set a course.
(They reach a place of erratic, colliding asteroids.)
T'POL: The asteroids are moving in a chaotic fashion. Their paths are
unpredictable. It may be the result of some spatial anomalies.
ARCHER: Where's the Vulcan ship?
T'POL: Approximately two thousand kilometres dead ahead.
TUCKER: I can guess why they were interested in this field. The
asteroids are loaded with trellium ore.
ARCHER: It looks a little too crowded in there for Enterprise. Wake up
Mister Reed. Tell him to meet us in the Launch bay.
HOSHI: Aye, sir.
ARCHER: (to Tucker) Try to get your hands on some of that ore. T'Pol.
[Shuttlepod]
T'POL:
Starboard bow, three hundred forty metres. (Archer is doing some very nifty avoiding manoeuvres.)
ARCHER: I see
it. (Two asteroids collide.)
REED: No damage, though we may need a fresh coat of paint.
ARCHER: How much farther?
T'POL: Twelve hundred kilometres. I could take the helm if you'd like.
ARCHER: Maybe on the way back. So what else do you know about the
Seleya?
T'POL: A great deal. I served on it for over a year. It was my last
assignment before joining the consulate on Earth. I was the deputy
science officer under Captain Voris.
ARCHER: Any idea what they were doing in the Expanse?
T'POL: They were attempting to chart the thermobaric perimeter. After
several days they reported that they'd become caught in some kind of
subspace eddy and were being pulled into the Expanse. It was their
final transmission. The Vankaara was sent to find them. You already
know what happened to that crew.
ARCHER: Let's hope the Seleya fared a little better.
T'POL: Directly ahead, two hundred metres.
ARCHER: Hang on. (A very near miss.)
[Transporter alcove]
(A rock
is beamed aboard, and Tucker scans it.)
TUCKER: Good isotope density. We should get at least half a kilo out of
this one. (He hauls the rock off the pad.) TUCKER: Let's try for something bigger
this time. How about this one. (He points to a display.)
TRAVIS: I've got a lock. (Travis starts the beam-in sequence, and the floor
ripples.)
TUCKER: Travis?
TRAVIS: There's an overload in the resequencer.
TUCKER: Shut it down.
TRAVIS: I can't. (Circuits blow, the rock vanishes, the floor ripples,
then the rock reappears as pieces embedded in the walls.)
TUCKER: This thing's useless. The coils are fused.
TRAVIS: What if I could put a shuttlepod down on one of the big ones.
TUCKER: They're pretty unpredictable. You sure you could land safely?
TRAVIS: I can try.
TUCKER: This'll be a new one for the maintenance crew.
[Shuttlepod]
(Reed scans the Seleya.) REED:
Main power's offline. Their hull's taken quite a
beating.
HAWKINS: Life support?
REED: Minimal. Decks twelve and thirteen have decompressed.
T'POL: I'm reading multiple biosigns.
ARCHER: This is Captain Archer of the starship Enterprise. Please
respond. Seleya, come in.
T'POL: The starboard docking port is still intact.
[Seleya]
(They
climb into a wreck - spluttering electrics and debris scattered around.)
REED: Captain. They were lining this bulkhead with trellium. They
didn't get very far.
T'POL: I'm reading biosigns on this deck. I can't isolate them.
ARCHER: (to Reed) Take starboard.
(Reed and Hawkins head off together.)
REED: Vulcan blood.
(Archer and T'Pol force their way into another compartment. They hear a
regular clanging.)
T'POL: One biosign.
(They open another bulkhead, and get attacked by Vulcan with iron bar.
Archer is cut, T'Pol tries to
takes their assailant down with a phaser but has little effect. Archer
finally gets him.)
ARCHER: You all right? T'Pol?
T'POL: I'm fine. (She scans the Vulcan.) T'POL: His synaptic pathways have been
severely damaged.
ARCHER: Let's get him in the pod.
T'POL: Captain! (Two more Vulcans approach.)
ARCHER: Keep back! (He phasers them.) ARCHER: Archer to Reed.
REED [OC]: Go ahead sir.
ARCHER: Have you come across anyone?
(Elsewhere.)
REED: Not yet.
ARCHER [OC]: Watch yourself. Something's happened to them. They've
become violent.
REED: Aye, sir. (They're promptly attacked by a whole group of Vulcans.
It takes several rifle shots to fell each one. Archer and T'Pol arrive
to help.)
ARCHER: Lieutenant, you okay?
REED: What happened to them?
T'POL: Seven more, that direction, thirty metres.
REED: Captain.
ARCHER: Let's get out of here.
(They head back to the pod, and Hawkins adjusts the setting on his
rifle.)
T'POL: What are you doing?
HAWKINS: Stun isn't working. We should set our weapons to kill.
T'POL: These are Vulcan officers and we're on a rescue mission.
HAWKINS: With respect ma'am, they don't seem to want our help.
T'POL: You heard me!
ARCHER: Keep your weapons on stun.
HAWKINS: Yes, sir.
(Back at the docking hatch, two Vulcans are standing guard.)
HAWKINS: Captain, over here.
REED: What are they doing?
ARCHER: We're from the Starfleet ship Enterprise. Do you understand me?
(A bulkhead is dropped just in front of the group.) ARCHER: Is there another way
to the airlock?
T'POL: No. (They're attacked from behind.) T'POL: That way.
ARCHER: Go. Go on. (They go up a ladder. Archer's foot is grabbed but
they fight them off and shut the hatch.) ARCHER: Archer to Enterprise.
Enterprise respond.
T'POL: If their comm. system's intact we may be able to contact
Enterprise from the Bridge.
ARCHER: Where is it?
T'POL: Seven decks above us.
REED: Seven. How many Vulcans are on board?
T'POL: Assuming the entire crew is still alive, one hundred and forty
seven.
REED: If I'm not mistaken, the launch bay's on this level. Maybe we can
use one of their shuttles.
T'POL: The bay's depressurised, probably from an asteroid impact.
ARCHER: We have to get back to our pod.
T'POL: That'll be difficult. All four bulkheads leading to the airlock
have been sealed.
ARCHER: We should keep moving. How's your arm?
HAWKINS: It's fine, sir.
REED: He's losing a lot of blood, Captain. We've got to treat this
wound.
ARCHER: How far to their Sickbay?
T'POL: It's two decks up.
ARCHER: Let's go. (to T'Pol) Are you all right?
T'POL: Since we've come aboard, I've been experiencing anxiety.
Whatever's happened to this crew may be starting to affect me.
ARCHER: We'll get you out of here as soon as we can.
[Shuttlepod
two]
(Our
two trellium miners are in EV suits minus helmets at the moment.)
TUCKER: This one's more isolated, and I'm reading large deposits near
the surface. Can you set us down?
TRAVIS: There isn't a flat spot much bigger than my quarters.
TUCKER: You're the pilot, it's your call.
TRAVIS: Let's go. I'm matching the rotational velocity.
TUCKER: Looking good. Two hundred metres. You're drifting to the left.
TRAVIS: Got it. (A bouncy landing.) TRAVIS: I hope you won't write that landing
up in your log.
TUCKER: Are you kidding? I'm going to recommend they give you a medal.
[Asteroid]
TUCKER:
Let's try to make this quick.
[Seleya
Sickbay]
(They
shoot one Vulcan who tries to pounce.)
ARCHER: Any idea what's causing this? (T'Pol scans the Vulcan who is restrained inside an isolation pod.)
T'POL: I'm not a doctor.
ARCHER: But you are my Science Officer. I need to know I can depend on
you.
T'POL: I'll do my best. His name is Solin. When I served here he was
the Chief Engineer. I knew him. (The Vulcan wakes.) T'POL: Can you understand me?
Sub-Commander T'Pol. We served together. Don't you recognise me? We're
here to help you but we need to know what happened to your crew. Solin,
look at me. Something has made you very ill. You've lost control. Tell
me what happened. Tell me! (Solin becomes violent.) T'POL: This is going to
happen to me.
ARCHER: You don't know that.
T'POL: It's already started. I can feel my control slipping away.
ARCHER: We're getting you off this ship.
T'POL: It's too late.
ARCHER: We're going to take the scans you made back to Phlox and figure
out what's going on here, but first we have to get to the shuttle. How
do you open those bulkheads? The bulkheads.
T'POL: There's an auxiliary control room on the Engineering deck.
ARCHER: Okay.
[Seleya
crawlway]
(T'Pol
stops for a rest.)
HAWKINS: Are you okay?
ARCHER: T'Pol, we have to keep moving. (She shrugs off Hawkin's helping hand.)
T'POL: I don't need your help.
[Seleya
compartment]
(They
come out into an area with fallen girders and spluttering cables.)
REED: Two more biosigns fifty metres beyond that hatch. It's the only
way to the Engineering deck.
ARCHER: We'll go deal with them. Stay with her, Hawkins.
HAWKINS: Aye sir. (T'Pol slides gently down the wall to rest.)
HAWKINS: Water? No offense, but you look like you could use some.
T'POL: Thank you.
HAWKINS: I apologise for the way I reacted before. You were right, this
is a rescue mission. May I ask you a question? How is it possible that
this crew could turn so violent, when Vulcans aren't supposed to have
emotions.
T'POL: A common misconception. We have emotions. We simply keep them
suppressed, under control. Something has obviously caused them to lose
that control.
HAWKINS: Why would they want to kill us?
T'POL: There was a time in the past when we were an extremely violent
race. We nearly destroyed ourselves. Paranoia and homicidal rage were
common.
[Seleya
crawlway]
REED: Five metres. (They come into another compartment and are attacked
by three Vulcans, who they quickly dispose of.)
ARCHER: Any more where they came from?
REED: Not at the moment.
ARCHER: Archer to Hawkins.
[Seleya compartment]
HAWKINS: Go ahead, sir.
ARCHER [OC]: We're all clear.
HAWKINS: Understood. We're on our way.
[Asteroid]
(The
pair are putting small rocks into a case.)
TRAVIS: I heard about the accident you and T'Pol had in the lab.
TUCKER: It was minor. Nothing to write home about.
TRAVIS: But you're sure this stuff is safe to bring on board?
TUCKER: Don't worry. It only tends to blow up in its liquid state.
(There's a small tremor.)
HOSHI [OC]: Enterprise to Commander Tucker.
TUCKER: Go ahead.
[Bridge]
HOSHI:
Sir, we've just picked up a spatial anomaly at your coordinates.
TUCKER [OC]: We saw it.
HOSHI: It's altered the course of
[Asteroid]
HOSHI
[OC]: The asteroid. You're heading into a denser part of the field.
(They look up to see a very big asteroid heading straight for them.)
[Shuttlepod
two]
TRAVIS:
Grab a seat, Commander.
TUCKER: Don't worry about me. Just get us the hell out of here.
(they take off in a hail of small rocks, and just miss the big one)
TRAVIS: The starboard thruster's failing.
TUCKER: There's debris in the intake manifold. Can you purge it? (Mini-worlds collide behind them.)
TRAVIS: We're clear. We've only
got one thruster left.
TUCKER: Can you get us home?
TRAVIS: I think so.
TUCKER: Shuttlepod two to Enterprise.
HOSHI [OC]: Go ahead, Commander.
TUCKER: We're on our way back, but we've taken damage.
[Bridge]
TUCKER
[OC]: Alert the launch bay crew to get ready for a rough docking.
HOSHI: Understood.
[Seleya
Engineering]
(They
enter through a ceiling hatch.)
ARCHER: Secure the door.
T'POL: The transceiver's been damaged.
ARCHER: Any chance of repairing it? T'Pol.
T'POL: What!
ARCHER: Any chance of repairing it.
T'POL: There's an auxiliary transmitter. If I can get access to it we
may be able to contact Enterprise.
REED: Sir, I've encrypted the locking codes, but if they're determined
to get in.
[Launch
bay]
(Pod Two is a battered mess.)
TUCKER: Looks like the impulse assembly took a beating. Open up the
engine housings and run a diagnostic.
HOSHI [OC]: Bridge to Commander Tucker.
TUCKER: Tucker here.
HOSHI [OC]: We're receiving a transmission from the Captain. It sounds
urgent.
TUCKER: Route it down here.
HOSHI [OC]: Go ahead, Captain.
ARCHER [OC]: Trip,
[Seleya
Engineering]
ARCHER:
We're going to need some help getting off this ship. How fast can you
be here?
[Launch
bay]
TUCKER:
Pod two took some damage in the asteroid field, sir. We're looking at a
couple of hours before we can launch again.
[Seleya
Engineering]
TUCKER
[OC]: What's the problem?
ARCHER: It's the Vulcan crew. Something's wrong with them.
[Launch
bay]
ARCHER
[OC]: We're going to transmit some biodata.
[Seleya
Engineering]
ARCHER:
Tell Phlox to start analysing it. See if there's anything we can do to
help these people.
TUCKER [OC]: Acknowledged. Anything else?
ARCHER: Just get that shuttle flying.
[Launch
bay]
TUCKER:
Aye sir.
ARCHER [OC]: Archer out.
TUCKER: You heard the Captain. Get a repair team down here.
[Seleya
Engineering]
T'POL:
The bulkhead controls were severed on deck nine. I've rerouted them
through the auxiliary grid. Mister Reed, are you finished with those
actuator circuits?
REED: They've all been realigned.
(T'Pol puts her hand in and gets an electric shock)
ARCHER: You okay?
T'POL: What did you do?
REED: I realigned the circuits, just like you asked me. (T'Pol pushes him away roughly.)
T'POL: These aren't sequenced correctly. You
overloaded the locking mechanism!
ARCHER: Then we'll have to try something else.
T'POL: It's pointless. The circuits are damaged! I should have been
watching him. You didn't want me to see. Now I know what you were doing
in the Command Centre.
ARCHER: What are you talking about?
T'POL: The Xindi starcharts. You were analysing them behind my back,
undermining my work.
ARCHER: No one's trying to sabotage your work. We should all just focus
on getting off this ship safely.
REED: There might be another way, sir. If we overload the power grid,
it would disrupt the systems all over the ship including the bulkhead
mechanisms.
T'POL: The warp reactor is unstable as it is. Disrupting main power
could shut down the anti-matter containment. You'd cause a reactor
breach.
ARCHER: I don't think we have much of a choice.
T'POL: You want to kill all of us. (pulls out her phase pistol) You
don't trust Vulcans. You never have.
REED: Sir, that pistol's set to kill.
ARCHER: Give me the weapon.
T'POL: Don't think I've forgotten. You blamed us for holding you back,
for undermining your father's work. Now you've decided to take revenge.
(Archer and Reed step forward) I'll fire!
ARCHER: Listen to me. This is a rescue mission. We're here to save
these people.
T'POL: You're lying. You want to kill them.
ARCHER: If that's true, then why would I keep our weapons on stun? It's
not logical. (She's distracted by a thumping at the door, and he
disarms her.)
[Sickbay]
TUCKER:
It doesn't make sense. T'Pol and I have been working with trellium for
weeks. She hasn't shown any symptoms.
PHLOX: I don't imagine she would have. Despite your best efforts, you
weren't able to synthesis it in any significant quantities. The crew of
the Seleya, however, had the misfortune of wandering into an asteroid
field filled with the compound. Trellium-D is a potent neurotoxin to
the Vulcan nervous system. It disrupts the synaptic pathways that allow
them to control emotions. Unfortunately the rate of decay is
accelerating.
[Seleya Engineering]
ARCHER:
Is it too late?
PHLOX [OC]: I can treat her, but I nee to begin synaptic regeneration
as soon as possible.
ARCHER: What about the Vulcan crew? (Vulcan's start ripping out
circuits elsewhere.) ARCHER: Phlox, do you read me?
PHLOX [OC]: I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for the others.
They've been exposed for too long. The neurological damage is
irreversible. They're dying, Captain.
T'POL: He's lying. He wants them all to die.
ARCHER: Doctor, there are over a hundred and forty people on this ship.
PHLOX [OC]: I'm sorry, but they've been exp
ARCHER: Enterprise. Phlox, do you hear me? Respond.
REED: They've shut the comm. system down.
HAWKINS: Captain, they're flooding the compartment with hexafluorine.
(Outside, Vulcans batter at the door with iron bars.)
ARCHER: Shut it off.
REED: I can't. They've bypassed the environmental controls.
T'POL: They won't let you destroy this ship.
ARCHER: After you initiate the overload, how long do we have?
REED: About fifteen minutes, maybe less.
(Archer nods.)
T'POL: No!
ARCHER: You heard what the Doctor said. They can't be saved, but you
can.
T'POL: Murderer!
ARCHER: Help me get her out of here. (He helps Hawkins up to the ceiling
hatch.) ARCHER: Malcolm?
REED: Just about there.
ARCHER: (to T'Pol) Come on. Climb! (Vulcans start to force the door
open.) ARCHER: Malcolm!
[Seleya
Corridor]
(As
they make their way through the ship there are explosions both inside
and along the hull.)
REED: We don't have much time.
T'POL: No, no, no. (Archer manhandles her along.)
ARCHER: You can't stay here.
REED: Another twenty metres.
HAWKINS: Captain! (Staring at a big multi-deck hole in their path.)
REED: How were you at the long jump.
(They shoot two more Vulcans.)
ARCHER: Watch her. Reed. (They haul a girder in to bridge the gap.
Archer tests it for stability.) ARCHER: Come on, you can make it.
T'POL: Get away from me.
ARCHER: It's okay, I'll help you.
T'POL: Touch me and I'll kill you. (She lunges for him so he stuns her
and carries her across the girder in a fireman's lift, as the others
ward off the Vulcans,)
REED: Go. I said, go! (First Hawkins then Reed cross the girder with
the Vulcans in pursuit.)
HAWKINS: Give me a hand. (Hawkins and Archer pull up the bulkhead keeping
them from the docking hatch and use a spare grill to keep it open,
while Reed dislodges the girder to leave the Vulcans raging on the
other side. Once they are all through, the grill is pushed away and the
bulkhead drops again.)
[Shuttlepod]
REED:
What's wrong?
ARCHER: I can't release the docking clamps. Full power to thrusters.
HAWKINS: We're being hailed.
[Shuttlepod
two]
TUCKER:
Are you all right, Captain?
ARCHER [OC]: The docking
[Shuttlepod]
ARCHER:
clamps are jammed. We could use a hand.
TUCKER [OC]: Stand by. (They phaser the pod free.) TUCKER [OC]: You're clear, sir.
ARCHER: The ship's about to blow. Get the hell out of here.
(The elegant curved Seleya goes to pieces in a very bang.) ARCHER: Archer to shuttlepod two. Are you still in one piece?
TUCKER [OC]: We're fine, sir. See you back on Enterprise.
[Launch
bay]
TUCKER:
We got over sixty kilos. That should be enough
to line the forward hull.
ARCHER: It may be a while before Phlox finds a way to inoculate T'Pol.
Take this to Cargo bay one. Store it in the biohazard locker.
TUCKER: Aye, sir.
[Sickbay]
ARCHER: How'd it go?
PHLOX: You got her out in time, Captain. Her synaptic pathways are
mending nicely, but it will be a few days before she fully regains
control of her emotions.
ARCHER: I'd like to talk with her.
(Phlox wakes her with a hypospray)
ARCHER: Phlox was able to help you. You're going to be okay.
T'POL: The Seleya?
ARCHER: It was destroyed. I'm sorry, but I didn't have a choice.
PHLOX: They were beyond help. Their fate was sealed long before we
arrived. (to Archer) Please don't be long. (leaves)
T'POL: Was Commander Tucker successful?
ARCHER: Yes and no. He collected a good supply of trellium, but it
turns out it was trellium that poisoned the Vulcan crew and you.
T'POL: It's essential you protect this ship. Leave me on the next
habitable planet.
ARCHER: I'm not going to do that.
T'POL: You can't allow your concern for a single crewman to affect your
mission. This Expanse destroyed everyone aboard the Seleya. Don't let
it happen to Enterprise.
ARCHER: We'll find a way through this, but I won't leave anyone behind.
Not if I can help it. I can't try to save humanity without holding on
to what makes me human.
[Mess
hall - movie night]
PHLOX: Something tells me we haven't seen the last of the detective in
the bow tie.
TUCKER: No, he died in a house fire.
PHLOX: Ah, did he? The autopsy was inconclusive. I wouldn't be
surprised if the body belonged to the delivery man with the strange
limp. You never did see him leave the house.
TUCKER: What about the gardener? He was there too.
PHLOX: Too tall. Even the primitive forensics of the mid-twentieth
century would have determined that.
T'POL: Perhaps we should watch, and find out.
TUCKER: Part of the fun of a mystery is trying to solve it before it
ends, using logic. You of all people should appreciate that.
T'POL: Then use logic more quietly.
ARCHER [OC]: All hands report to stations. Tactical alert.
(As T'Pol stands in the turbolift, she sees a zombie Vulcan from the Seleya
and fights with him. She's back on the Seleya with explosions and
attackers all around her, speaking her name.)
[Sickbay]
(T'Pol wakes with a start, terrified.)
PHLOX: It's all right. You're on Enterprise. You're safe.
|