Star Trek: Enterprise s02e19 Episode Script

Bring in the prisoner.
You stand accused of conspiring against the Klingon Empire.
How do you respond? I'm not guilty.
When this tribunal convenes tomorrow you will be given a chance to prove your innocence.
If you cannot, there is only one punishment.
It's been a long road Gettin' from there to here It's been a long time But my time is finally near And I will see my dream Come alive at last I will touch the sky And they're not gonna Hold me down no more No, they're not gonna change my mind 'Cause I've got faith of the heart I'm going where my heart will take me I've got faith to believe I can do anything I've got strength of the soul And no one's gonna bend or break me I can reach any star I've got faith I've got faith Faith of the heart You have five minutes.
- Glad you could drop by.
- How are you? I've been better.
I wasn't sure if I'd find you alive.
They promised me a trial before the execution.
Something wrong? Xenopolycythemia can be highly contagious.
I'm surprised they haven't put you in isolation.
Any residual symptoms? Fever, dizziness? Just a scratchy throat.
Let's have a look.
- When did you get here? - Two days ago.
But they refused to let us see you.
Enemies of the state aren't allowed visitors.
T'Pol was able to convince them that your condition necessitated a visit from your doctor.
Very thoughtful of her.
She sends her regards.
She assures you that Starfleet and the Vulcan High Command are doing everything to get you released.
Are they having any luck? Not yet.
But she and Commander Tucker have begun exploring other options for regaining your freedom.
When this is over whatever the outcome I'm counting on them to get Enterprise safely out of Klingon territory.
I'll let them know.
How are your accommodations? Not so bad.
Can't say I'm a big fan of Klingon cuisine.
It may not appear appetising, but it seems like a good source of protein.
I suggest you eat it.
Is he infectious? I don't believe so.
- Then return to your ship.
- I'd like to run more tests.
You're not here to treat him.
Thanks for the house call, Doc.
I'm sure I'll see you soon.
I'm Kolos, your advocate.
Jonathan Archer.
The tribunal's about to begin.
We haven't even discussed what happened.
I'm familiar with the charges.
Well, I'm not familiar with your justice system.
What can I expect out there? Now that you've been charged the evidence against you will be presented.
Do I get a chance to testify? I will conduct your defence.
How can you do that when you haven't heard what happened? I know what happened.
You mustn't speak during the tribunal.
I'll speak for you.
What are they saying? "Enemy.
" I hope they're not the jury.
There is no jury.
- Who's that? - Prosecutor Orak.
His success is well-known.
What about you? What's your success rate? I've performed my duty.
This tribunal is convened.
Strength to the Empire.
Prosecutor Orak, you may proceed.
I call Duras, son of Toral.
Captain Duras, tell the tribunal about your encounter with the accused.
I am no longer a captain.
Explain.
I am a second weapons officer serving on the Ty'Gokor defence perimeter.
The Duras I called to testify is commander of the battle cruiser Bortas.
I was recently reduced in rank.
A distinguished Klingon warrior stripped of his command.
Did the accused have anything to do with your disgrace? Yes.
Go on, Weapons Officer Duras.
A group of rebels had fled the Klingon protectorate at Raatooras.
I was commanded to bring these traitors to justice.
We'd followed their warp trail to a system just outside Klingon territory.
They're near the fifth planet.
Another vessel has docked with them.
Show me.
What kind of ship is that? Unknown.
But they've taken the rebels aboard.
Armaments? Torpedo launchers fore and aft.
Low-yield particle cannons.
We can defeat them easily.
Intercept.
- They're signalling us.
- Viewer.
Identify yourself.
Captain Archer of the battle cruiser Enterprise.
The people aboard your ship are wanted for treason.
Surrender them immediately.
By whose authority? The Chancellor of the Klingon High Council.
I don't know your chancellor, and I don't give a damn what he wants.
I've formed an alliance with these people, and I'll support their revolt.
Give them to me now, or I'll destroy your vessel.
Fire one shot, and you'll be joining your ancestors in the afterlife.
He refused to surrender the rebels? Yes.
I didn't say any of those things.
Can't you object? It's not important.
And how did you respond to Archer's defiance? I pitied him.
He was about to die in defence of these wretched traitors.
They weren't traitors.
Advocate, haven't you informed the prisoner of the rules of this tribunal? My apologies, Magistrate.
Be silent, or you will be removed.
Continue.
I showed him more patience than he deserved.
But obviously, he wanted blood to be spilled.
Don't be a fool.
Your ship is inferior.
You won't survive a battle with us.
Death to the Empire.
Return fire! They're heading for the ring system! The coward thinks he can hide.
Pursue them! Where are they? - Answer me! - Debris is interfering with sensors.
There.
Target their engines! All weapons! We've lost sensors.
Shields are down! Manual targeting! Fire! They're leaving orbit.
Follow them! Our engines are down.
It took us three hours to repair our warp drive.
But, of course, by that time, they were gone.
You're fortunate your first officer didn't kill you for such a failure.
You're dismissed.
You're not going to question him? He'd say nothing that would help you.
Do you have any further evidence to present? No, Magistrate.
Duras' testimony is clear.
He was attempting to carry out his mission to bring enemies of the Empire to justice.
But this aggressor, this human conspired with them to disgrace a proud warrior and foment rebellion! There can be no doubt that he is our enemy as well! Captain Archer claims to be innocent.
Innocent of what? This tribunal has already been far too lenient.
We haven't accused his crew, or his government.
He's fortunate we haven't dispatched a fleet of warships to his homeworld.
But we do demand that he be held responsible for the crimes he has committed.
We demand that he receive the most severe punishment our laws decree! Do you have a response? No, Magistrate.
Then I will consider the evidence and deliver my verdict I'd like a chance to defend myself.
You have been warned.
He's distorting the truth.
Be silent! Those people weren't rebels.
And I wasn't trying to start a rebellion.
I am not your enemy! This tribunal is in recess.
- What is this? - Targ.
It's a little underdone.
I told you to remain silent.
You should have listened to me.
Sorry if I interfered with your legal strategy.
My strategy may yet spare your life.
I've spoken with the magistrate.
He's willing to show mercy if you cooperate.
- How? - Tell him where to find the rebels.
I told you, they're not rebels.
It doesn't matter what you believe.
They're subject to the laws of the Empire.
Nothing you say can change that.
I haven't been able to say anything.
Where did you take them? Another ship? A planet? Do you understand what will happen if you don't tell them? I have a pretty good idea.
I'm offering you a way to save your life.
Let's say I did cooperate.
What would happen to these people? They would be charged with treason.
And end up in a court like this one? Tell the magistrate I'm going to pass on his offer.
Only a fool would sacrifice himself for people he barely knows.
I know them well enough.
They're good people, and I won't turn them over.
If you'd let me testify, tell my side of the story it might become clear why I helped them.
But from what I've seen you're all perfectly happy to ignore what you don't want to hear.
Don't be so quick to accuse me of sharing their interpretation of the law.
No? What's your interpretation? I became an advocate many years ago.
They were different times.
Better or worse? The courts were more willing to listen.
Then maybe you should remind them of those different times.
Nothing like a good history lesson.
I'm an old man.
Too old to challenge the rules.
Even if your client's life depends on it? I get the feeling you're as frustrated as I am.
And you want to stand up to them.
But you've given up.
- You're afraid of them.
- I'm not afraid.
Then prove it.
Challenge them.
Show them what a real trial is like.
Strength to the Empire.
Have you informed the accused of our offer? I have.
And does he wish to address this tribunal? He does.
He wishes to testify in his own defence.
I object.
The time for testimony is over.
With respect, Magistrate, no verdict has been reached.
Irrelevant! I urge you to end these proceedings.
I'm within my rights to present further testimony.
You're speaking of archaic rights.
Surely I don't need to remind the magistrate the judicial charter of Koloth states an advocate is entitled to challenge the charges at any point during the tribunal.
To my knowledge, that charter has not been cast aside.
From the time of Kahless our courts have stood as a forum where justice is dispensed with honour! Now, will my case be heard, or will it not? Call your witness.
Identify yourself.
I'm Captain Jonathan Archer of the Earth Starship Enterprise.
Do you admit, Captain Archer that you gave aid and comfort to a vessel fleeing the Empire? We answered a distress call.
They were starving.
Their life support was failing.
Their health isn't at issue here.
You helped them to escape! Will my client be allowed to testify or not? Prosecutor, you will show the advocate the same respect he has shown you.
Continue.
Recount for this tribunal your recollection of the events.
As I said, we had received a distress call.
Magnify.
- Bio-signs? - Twenty-seven.
- Any response? - No, sir.
Malcolm? Main propulsion's off-line, life support is failing.
They're in a bad way, sir.
Can you dock with them? Their port engine is venting reactor coolant.
I can try to come in on the starboard side, but it'll be tricky.
Do your best.
Our warp drive failed three weeks after we left.
We tried to set a course for the nearest system at impulse but main power went down.
How long ago was that? I don't know.
Six weeks.
Maybe more.
We diverted auxiliary power to life support, but it wasn't enough.
Food processors failed water recyclers I've put them all on protein supplements but two of them are in serious condition.
When we left, there were 54 aboard.
What brought you out here? Several years ago, our colony was annexed by a species we had never seen before.
They said they'd provide for us in exchange for our allegiance that we become a part of their empire.
But they stripped us of our resources, left us with nothing.
We waited for them to return.
They said they'd bring food, fuel.
They never came back.
You knew they were fleeing the Empire.
We knew that their colony had been abandoned.
And you chose to show them compassion? They were starving.
They wouldn't have lasted another week.
They were subjects of the Empire.
Their welfare was not your concern.
Apparently it wasn't yours, either.
You see the contempt these humans have for us? He still believes he did nothing wrong.
And Prosecutor Orak has yet to prove that he has.
He aided these rebels and now he refuses to help us bring them to justice! I will hear what the accused has to say.
Continue.
My chief engineer had determined that their vessel was beyond repair.
Some of the crew'll have to double up, but we can accommodate them all.
I've already given the order.
Considering the alternative was to set the ship adrift I anticipated your decision.
Where do you plan to take them? They were headed for a system a few light-years away.
That'll keep them safe from the Klingons.
Empires tend to expand.
They may eventually discover they haven't travelled far enough.
Captain, please report to the Bridge.
Looks like they didn't abandon the colonists after all.
Perhaps they're bringing the supplies they promised.
It's a D-5 battle cruiser.
I doubt it's bringing supplies.
How long before they get here? Seventeen minutes.
- Are all the refugees aboard? - Yes, sir.
Cut their ship loose, and go to tactical alert.
So, you were preparing for battle.
I was preparing to defend my ship.
As any good Klingon commander would be.
The accused already admitted he knew the rebels were subjects of the Empire.
They may have been subjects of the Empire but it sure as hell looked like you'd abandoned them.
And he knew the Bortas was coming to retrieve them.
Yet he launched a deliberate attack against an lmperial vessel.
This human is guilty of more than inciting rebellion.
He has committed an act of war! I don't suppose there's a chance of outrunning them.
Their maximum speed is warp 6.
If we could disable their engines.
Sustained fire from our phase-cannons should penetrate their armour but I doubt they'd sit still long enough to give us the chance.
What's the composition of those rings? Nothing unusual.
Methane ice, isolytic plasma, diamagnetic dust.
When we pulled that Klingon ship out of the gas giant did you get a look at their sensor array? Pretty standard multi-spectral sensors.
Not too different from ours.
If we could ignite the plasma in those rings would it disrupt their sensors? For a few seconds.
A few seconds will have to do.
Can you modify a torpedo? - I believe so.
- How long? How long do I have? The Klingon ship will be here in less than 11 minutes.
Get moving.
So, you laid a trap for the Bortas? We had no intention of firing first.
Such a noble human.
I was assured the accused would be allowed to speak without interruption.
By all means.
I find his version of events extremely entertaining.
The Bortas had dropped out of warp with their weapons charged.
They're on an intercept course.
Hail them.
Identify yourself! I'm Jonathan Archer, Captain of the Starship Enterprise.
You're harbouring fugitives.
Surrender them! I wasn't aware they'd committed any crime.
They're wanted for inciting rebellion.
From what I can tell, they are in no condition to incite anything.
Apparently, their colony was abandoned by Turn over the rebels, now! What do you intend to do with them? That's none of your concern.
I'm sorry, but I'm not prepared to hand them over without more information.
If I could speak to someone in your government.
I speak for the Empire! Fair enough.
Let's sit down and try to Hull plating is at 80%.
No damage to the Klingon ship.
Head into the rings.
They're pursuing.
10,000 metres.
We're approaching a large fragment, Bearing 2-2-7, Mark 4.
Put us behind it.
- They're closing, sir.
4,000 metres.
- Stand by.
- 800 metres.
- Fire! Our sensors are down.
Let's hope theirs are, too.
Get us out of here.
- You say the Bortas fired first? - Yes.
And you tried to reach an accommodation with Captain Duras? He refused.
Duras was under no obligation to accommodate this human.
You were defending your ship when you attacked the Bortas? - Yes.
- And then what happened? We left the system and took the refugees with us.
You could have destroyed the Bortas.
Why didn't you? Because Captain Duras is not my enemy.
Not your enemy.
I submit to this tribunal that Captain Archer is guilty.
Guilty of meddling in Klingon affairs on more than one occasion.
In fact, I've discovered his name is well known to the High Council.
The accused once stood before the Chancellor himself and exposed a Suliban plot that would have thrown the Empire into civil war.
That is absurd.
The facts are on record.
Perhaps the prosecutor has grown complacent with his research.
The records of the lmperial Fleet also mention this man.
His ship was instrumental in the rescue of the Klingon Raptor, the Somraw from the dense atmosphere of a gas giant.
Even if this is true, it has nothing to do with this case! It has everything to do with this case.
It shows a pattern in Archer's behaviour that was repeated in his encounter with Captain Duras.
Yes, he may be self-righteous but his meddling has saved a Klingon ship and perhaps the fate of the Empire itself.
If Captain Archer is guilty he is guilty of nothing more than being a nuisance and hardly worth the attention of this tribunal.
And if he must be punished let the punishment fit that crime.
How long should it take for a verdict? It usually doesn't take long at all.
I must have been more persuasive than I thought.
Thanks for what you've done for me.
Don't thank me yet.
The odds are still very much against us.
- What is it? - Bloodwine.
It should help make the wait more pleasant.
What's it the blood of? Don't feel badly if you can't stomach it.
I didn't say that.
How many cases have you won? I'm not sure.
Over 200.
But that was a long time ago when the tribunal was a forum for the truth and not a tool for the warrior class.
There are other classes? You didn't believe all Klingons were soldiers? I guess I did.
My father was a teacher.
My mother, a biologist at the university.
They encouraged me to take up the law.
Now all young people want to do is take up weapons as soon as they can hold them.
They're told there's honour in victory.
Any victory.
What honour is there in a victory over a weaker opponent? Had Duras destroyed that ship he would have been lauded as a hero of the Empire for murdering helpless refugees.
We were a great society not so long ago.
When honour was earned through integrity and acts of true courage not senseless bloodshed.
For thousands of years, my people had similar problems.
We fought three world wars that almost destroyed us.
Whole generations were nearly wiped out.
What changed? A few courageous people began to realise they could make a difference.
I have weighed the evidence carefully.
Advocate Kolos has made an impressive case much to the surprise of this tribunal.
Based upon his arguments I am inclined to believe that the accused was a victim of his own foolishness.
He was not fomenting rebellion.
But, as Prosecutor Orak has made clear the laws of the Empire have been violated and Captain Archer must be held accountable for his actions regardless of his intent.
I therefore find the accused guilty as charged.
However this tribunal cannot ignore his actions assisting the Klingon people.
Therefore the sentence of death is commuted.
Silence! Jonathan Archer you are condemned to the dilithium mines of the penal colony of Rura Penthe for the remainder of your life.
- Remove the prisoner.
- I protest.
I wouldn't protest too loudly, Prosecutor.
You've won your case.
And I compliment the magistrate on his just ruling.
But the sentence for these crimes must be death! The sentence is death.
You condemned this man to Rura Penthe.
What is the life expectancy of a prisoner there? Six months, a year at the most? And you expect us to believe that this is an act of mercy.
This court has shown you a great deal of patience, Advocate.
Don't test my limits any further.
I ask for no special treatment only that my client be judged fairly as any Klingon would be judged.
But it has been many years since anyone stood in this chamber and received justice.
Watch your words! You insult the honour of this tribunal.
Honour? You acknowledged that Captain Archer acted with conviction and integrity and how do you reward him? With this grand public display of compassion before sending him to his death in a frozen cave! Enough! Forgive me if I fail to see the honour in that! You are in contempt of this tribunal.
Since you have such admiration for the prisoner you will join him on Rura Penthe for a period of one year.
Remove them both.
The Vulcan High Command will continue to lobby for the Captain's release.
So what do we do? The Klingons have only allowed us to remain here during the trial.
We're to leave immediately.
- And abandon the Captain? - We don't have a choice.
What's this Rura Penthe like? It's quite inhospitable.
They're going to have to get there.
We're deep inside Klingon territory.
A rescue attempt is out of the question.
- I'm willing to risk it.
- The Captain isn't.
He made it clear he didn't want us to endanger the crew on his behalf.
So you're saying we just forget about him? I'm saying a rescue isn't an option, but there are diplomatic channels.
We tried diplomatic channels.
Not all of them.
I've dealt with several Klingon bureaucrats in the past.
Some of them can be persuaded.
Mr Mayweather take us out of orbit.
You! Get back to work! You all right? Perhaps I spent too much time in the law library and not enough in the battlefield.
Not all Klingons are warriors.
Remember? Our ships run on dilithium, not talk.
- Leave him alone.
- Get back to work.
Any more trouble from you and you'll spend the night on the surface.
You're a fool.
- You're welcome.
- Haven't you learned your lesson? This is why you were sent here in the first place.
For interfering in affairs that have nothing to do with you.
We have a saying on Earth: "You don't kick a man when he's down.
" So, are all humans like this? Like what? Fair? Stupid.
It's in our nature.
Stand up.
We have work to do unless you want to sleep on the surface.
Follow me.
This way.
New arrivals.
Prosecutor Orak has been busy.
Stay away from us.
We have nothing you want.
Captain.
It's all right.
He's from my ship.
- It's good to see you, sir.
- You, too.
Lieutenant Reed, this is Kolos, my advocate.
- Pleasure.
- How'd you get here? T'Pol knows a few Klingon officials from her days in the Ministry of Security.
One of them put us in touch with a corrections officer who looked the other way for the right price.
I came on one of the dilithium barges.
We bribed the captain to bring us here and take us back to Enterprise.
Is there room for one more? I imagine so, but we have to hurry.
- Come on.
- I can't go with you.
Why not? I've been an advocate for 50 years.
And I've spent the last 20 of them standing in that tribunal playing my part, holding my tongue and all the while honourable men were being sent to places like this without the benefit of a defence.
And then I was assigned to your case.
You told me that on your world a few courageous people made a difference.
I'm not sure I have the courage but I know I'll never be able to restore honour to my people living as a fugitive.
You realise what that means? You said most prisoners here don't survive a year.
Most prisoners here have very little to live for.
Captain.
Go.
Thank you.