Star Trek: Enterprise s04e16 Episode Script
Divergence
Previously on Enterprise: You, Denobulan, come with us.
A virus is spreading from planet to planet.
Millions are already infected.
What do you want with me? If this continues, the Klingon species will cease to exist.
There"s a job that needs doing, Lieutenant.
It may be the only way to save your friend"s life.
You don"t seriously expect me to help you create Klingon Augments? Take him.
The Malcolm Reed I know would give his life before committing treason.
There are some obligations that go beyond my loyalty to you and this crew.
- T'Pol to Captain Archer, - Go ahead, The warp matrix has been compromised by a Klingon subroutine, It"s infiltrated our command protocols.
Pressure"s increasing again.
- Take us to warp 5.
2.
- Sir, we can"t hold that speed for long.
We're out of options, Travis, And now, the conclusion, We've 47 minutes until our reactor breaches, What did the Klingons do to it? They altered our engineering subroutines.
If we go below warp 5, the reactor"s going to explode.
- How can I help? - I"ve just been talking with Trip.
Columbia can rendezvous with us in 30 minutes.
He says he can restore the subroutines.
- He can't do that from Columbia.
- We're gonna bring him on board, The Transporter won't operate at warp and docking's out of the question, Trip told me you have experience transferring personnel at warp speed, In training exercises, yes, but at warp speed 1, Every move was rehearsed in simulators for weeks.
We don't have weeks, We'll have to merge our warp field with Columbia"s.
T"Pol"s doing the calculations now.
At warp 5, we'll have to move within 50 meters of each other, Has anyone ever done this before? Travis can handle the flying, Can you get Trip over here? You"ll have to let me out of this Brig.
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 Commander Tucker, are you ready for this? As ready as I"ll ever be.
Open a channel.
- Columbia to Enterprise.
- This is Archer.
We're matching speed and trajectory as requested, Stand by, Columbia, Archer to Reed.
- Go ahead, - We're in position, Have them start their rotation, Coming up on 100 meters.
This is the Bridge.
All hands brace for warp field contact.
Hold her steady, Travis or Chef will know who to blame for the mess in the galley, We"re at 50 meters and holding.
Make sure everything"s ready for Trip in Engineering.
Archer to Reed.
You"re all clear.
Understood, Columbia, I'm deploying the tether, Nice shooting, Malcolm, Tucker to Captain Hernandez, - Go ahead, - I'm heading out, Quick as you can, Commander, Never thought I'd see the stars like this, Eyes on the cable, Commander.
I need you back here in one piece.
You're doing fine, Trip, T"Pol, what"s happening? I"m reading a fluctuation in the warp field.
Take power from life support if you have to, but keep the field constant.
Sir, I"m having trouble holding position.
Don't mean to be a pest, but could someone tell me what's going on? You're almost here, Trip, Keep going, Engineering, report! I"m re-routing power now, Captain.
Stand by.
The tethers at its limit! Hurry up! T"Pol to the Bridge.
It"s not working.
Field is still fluctuating.
Almost there! Permission to come aboard? Bridge, I have him, - You all right, Trip? - I'll feel a lot better when this is over, There's only one way to do this, Captain; a cold start, I have to shut down the reactor, and re-set the algorithms, Once we bring the warp engine back online the subroutines should be back to normal, But if we shut down the reactor- That's why we need to move inside Columbia"s warp field, They can sustain our speed while I re-initialize the engines, They won"t be able to hold us for more than a minute or two.
- They don"t have enough power.
- I've got a shortcut in mind, Shortcut? Those subroutines would take hours to decrypt, Better just to purge them, wipe them clean, I"ll contact Columbia, I"ll contact Columbia, What are they here for? The Captain and I have had a slight misunderstanding.
How slight? These gentlemen are here to escort me back to the Brig.
Don"t worry, I"ll tell you all about it when we"re not quite so busy.
Fancy meeting you here.
- Intermix pressure? -1527.
- Field variance? -87 millicochranes.
Somebody hasn"t been taking very good care of my engine.
Speak with the Klingons.
- What are you doing? - You might want to take notes.
I"m about to perform a manual shutdown and re-start in less than two minutes.
- That"s not possible.
- Watch me.
- Columbia to Enterprise, - Go ahead.
I've routed everything I've got to my warp field, Do me a favor, Jonathan.
Make this quick.
Archer to Trip.
Ready when you are.
Stand by! Everyone get away from the bulkheads! It"s gonna get a little hot in here! Reactor shut down in five, four three, two, one! T"Pol, prime the injectors.
- Jenkins, man the relays.
- Yes, sir.
Columbia to Enterprise, You"ve got about 40 seconds.
Understood.
Trip, how's it going? - Just another minute, Captain.
- You don't have a minute, Get ready to initialize the matrix! Enterprise, we"re losing the field.
Almost there.
Full power to containment.
Fire up the antimatter stream! Ten seconds, Nine, eight, seven, six, Commander! - Here we go! - Four, three, two, We"ve got warp power.
Engineering to the Bridge.
Subroutines have been purged.
- Appreciate the house call, Mr, Tucker, - Anytime.
I'd like to drop to impulse for a while, Captain, just to check things over, Stand by.
Enterprise to Columbia, Thanks for the lift.
You"re not getting away with my Chief Engineer that easily.
- Any plans for the next few days? - What"ve you got in mind? Phlox.
This will help.
My apologies for the General"s conduct.
So cruel.
This is no way to treat a man of science.
Then end it.
Contact Starfleet.
My people need you, Phlox.
We have no healers with your abilities.
You want me to create Klingon Augments, living weapons.
I won"t do it.
No.
I"ve been reviewing your work.
It"s brilliant! You have discovered a weakness in the virus causing the plague.
If we interrupt the transcription sequence here Yes.
That would stop the genetic effects of the virus in Stage One.
There"d be changes of appearance, some minor neural reordering but no development of Stage Two characteristics.
No enhanced strength or speed or endurance.
But then General K"Vagh would not get his Augments.
He would never allow it.
What if we don"t tell him? Do you understand what will happen if the General learns that we"ve deceived him? The cure would save millions of innocent lives.
What more honorable death could there be for a healer Klingon or Denobulan? Captain's Starlog, Supplemental, I've asked Columbia to join us in our search for Phlox, We'll have a better chance of making it through Klingon territory with twice the firepower, I don"t suppose you can tell me where I"m going this time? No, I didn"t think so.
- Those are my personal files.
- Not when they affect my ship.
T"Pol restored everything you tried to erase.
We ran his face and voiceprint through our database.
His name"s Harris.
He worked in Starfleet Security up till five years ago.
After that, his file ends.
Captain - there"s nothing more I can add.
- I won"t accept that! You endangered every member of this crew.
You answer to me.
I thought I knew you, Malcolm.
Whatever hold this Harris has on you you could"ve come to me.
- I"m under orders.
- I"m your Commanding Officer! If you don"t tell me what"s going on, I"ll go to Starfleet.
Whatever you think you"ve been trying to keep hidden is going to come out.
Is that what you want? I can"t tell you what I don"t know.
Then let me talk to someone who can.
Send a message to Harris.
Has the House of Phlox always been one of healers? There is no House of Phlox.
Denobulan family units are different from Klingons.
Yes, I"ve heard.
Three wives for each husband.
Three husbands for each wife.
Your mating practices must be very complex.
Wondrously so.
- What about the House of Antaak? - We are a warrior caste.
When I became a healer, my father disowned me.
As a physician in the Imperial Fleet, you"ve served in the military.
Not as well as I should have.
I did not screen my subjects properly.
This plague, all its victims it"s my fault.
My failure is the reason you"re here.
The humans could not stop us.
I am your superior.
You will salute.
Now, report.
Enterprise was destroyed.
Starfleet will think it was her engines.
One of you is missing.
Your son was slow.
The humans killed him.
Did he die with honor? He let humans kill him.
Report.
- Dr.
Phlox has made excellent progress.
- Details.
I"ve identified the RNA sequences that code- Details I can pass on to my superiors.
I know where to look for the switch that will turn off the virus.
- How long until you find it? - An hour.
One hour.
What do you want? - I have news for the High Council.
- Explain.
The Denobulan is close to perfecting the Augments' genome, The Council has shut down your project.
If you sterilize this colony, then all our research will be lost, The fleet will reach you in three days, If you're successful by the time we get to orbit, Qu'Vat will be spared, Captain, it"s gonna be a while before everything"s back to normal in Engineering.
Can Kelby handle it? I could pull a little double duty to help him out.
I could check with Captain Hernandez.
Something else? What the hell"s going on with Malcolm? Nothing I can get into right now.
Fair enough.
Guess I"d better get back to Columbia, I"ll walk with you.
Are you enjoying your time aboard Columbia? Sure, why wouldn"t I? You haven"t been experiencing any problems? Such as? Adjusting to new food, new routines trouble sleeping.
- I sleep just fine.
How about you? - Fine.
- You sure about that? - Quite.
Your hour is up.
- We are getting the test results now.
- We are running out of time! General, I know the Klingon fleet is on its way and I understand what this project cost you, personally.
- Antaak told me about your son.
- He died in combat for the Empire.
At least he was spared the final stage of this disease.
May I ask how he was infected? Command chose his unit for the Augment experiment when we had exhausted our supply of prisoners.
My son was a warrior.
He asked for no special treatment, and I gave him none.
- What"d they give you? - It"s dead.
I can"t eat that.
No wonder you"re all so weak.
- Physical strength isn"t everything.
- Well, you can"t win wars without it.
Being smart is more important.
General Sun Tzu said that the greatest victories are those won without fighting.
The great Kahless said there"s no victory without combat.
Do you ever question why you fight? Soldiers don"t question.
They obey.
What if your superiors are wrong? They"re imprisoned, or killed.
That"s not how we do things in Starfleet.
Which is why the Klingon Empire will defeat you.
Then how come you"re in the same Brig that I"m in? You said we"d become stronger.
This is what you"ve done to us.
He will become infectious so he should be quarantined.
We"ll remain here.
If we"re going to die, we"ll die together as comrades.
Be patient, Lieutenant.
The Denobulan is working to stabilize the human DNA.
You will all be healthy again, and stronger than any Klingon.
- Will he restore our appearance? - I don"t know.
How do you expect us to return home looking like this? We will be outcasts.
There will be no place for us in the Empire.
Your heart is still Klingon.
Are you certain of that? During the battle with the Starfleet ship I felt fear for the first time since I was a child.
I wasn"t alone.
I could see it in the eyes of the others.
We"ve become like them.
Weak, cowardly.
It would be better for us to die.
As long as I draw breath the Empire will not turn its back on you.
I get the feeling you miss Phlox, too.
Maybe it"s just the stash of cheese he"s got in Sickbay.
Hold that thought.
Captain Archer, I'm told you have some questions for me, - Where"s my doctor? - He's safe on a mission of great importance to Starfleet, Phlox was kidnapped.
Starfleet would never authorize that.
Reread the Charter, Article 14, Section 31, There are a few lines that make allowances for bending the rules during times of extraordinary threat, - What threat? - Take your pick, - Earth's got a lot of enemies, - Klingons attacked my ship.
Is that what we"re talking about? What I wanna talk about is Lieutenant Reed, He's done good work for us over the years, Don't be too hard on him, He was just following my orders, You put him in an impossible position.
I can understand why you would feel that way but this is bigger than one captain, and one ship, You"re gonna have to do better than that.
All I can tell you is that if you interfere before Phlox completes his assignment the repercussions will affect entire worlds, One of these four strains has the genetic trigger that can neutralize the virus before it advances to its lethal stage.
Which one? I don"t know yet.
That"s why I have to check each of them.
How long will it take? A week.
Your fleet can quarantine this world, while I complete my tests.
Sterilization is not necessary.
Fleet Admiral Krell will not extend his deadline.
The only possible way to get results on Krell"s schedule is to infect four healthy Klingons.
You have four right here! Only one of these strains will work.
The other three will be lethal.
- Ethically, it"s unthinkable! - The ethics, Doctor, are simple.
Three lives to save millions.
At first, it didn"t seem like lying.
- What else would you call it? - Covert operations.
I was a young ensign, it was exciting.
- How do you feel about it now? - I thought it was done.
This is the first time that Harris has contacted me since I"ve served on Enterprise, He told me about the plague.
He said they needed Phlox to help the Klingons find a cure.
I was supposed to just slow us down.
Did Harris tell you about this? I had T"Pol take a closer look at our prisoner"s medical scans.
It"s human DNA.
I"m guessing the plague is a side-effect of a military experiment that went wrong.
I didn"t know.
Harris claims he"s doing this because Starfleet needs a stable Klingon Empire.
Do you believe him? I don"t trust him.
If the Klingons needed our help, there are easier ways to get it.
I wanted to tell you everything, Captain.
There"s a way out of this.
I don"t have to put you back in the Brig but you have to choose where your loyalties lie.
I wasn"t told where Phlox was taken but Starfleet Intelligence believes the Klingons have a genetic research facility on Qu"Vat Colony.
As you were.
- How long until we reach Qu"Vat? - Six hours, sir.
Captain, we need to be ready for Klingon patrols.
I suggest that Columbia withdraws to a safer distance so that we don"t make a single target.
Open a channel to Captain Hernandez.
Why did you think you"d succeed in perfecting Augments when Dr.
Soong failed? Soong"s mistake was that he made too few of them.
Earth once had thousands.
They became tyrannical and started a war.
- Klingons have discipline.
- Augments don"t.
Their increased aggression is matched by their decreased inhibitions.
You"d lose control of them, just as humans did.
How long until we know which one of us survives? An hour, at most.
Would bloodwine affect the results? I don"t believe so.
Then we shall drink to the bravery of these warriors.
- Doctor! - Never on the job.
We know Phlox was taken to Qu"Vat Colony to work on a cure.
We"re gonna be there in less than an hour.
Krell"s patrols will crush you.
They"ve all been recalled to enforce quarantine zones.
Phlox will be in the medical facility.
We need the coordinates.
If you don"t wanna help us, help your people.
My brothers.
They"re quite ill.
So are you.
Try to rest.
Doctor.
The two guards are displaying the first symptoms.
That accounts for two of the three lethal strains.
So either General K"Vagh lives, or I do.
It"s the General, isn"t it? His strain has the cure.
If we work quickly, there"s a chance we can treat you in time.
- What now? - There's been a complication, Another one? This time, your people failed to stop Enterprise.
It's on its way to Qu'Vat, with Columbia.
- Order them to withdraw.
- You know I don't have that authority, - Then I"ll destroy them.
- We had an arrangement, You did what I wanted.
I don"t need you anymore.
You agreed that both our governments would benefit if the two of us worked together, And you believed me.
Load the amino acids.
I"ll extract the viral DNA from his blood.
- Captain.
- You all right? Better, now that you"re here.
Father.
I was told that you had been killed.
- The humans spared me.
- I came to get my doctor back.
- We need him here.
- I have two ships in orbit, heavily armed.
Gentlemen, please.
I think I can speak for myself.
Captain.
I need a little more time to cure this plague.
Cure? You were supposed to perfect the Augment genome! I lied.
Your son may be alive but he will not survive much longer unless I complete my work.
A few hours, Captain.
That"s all I ask.
Several million patients are counting on it.
Commander three Klingon battle cruisers have just dropped out of warp.
Open a channel to Columbia, The Klingons are jamming everything.
- What is it? - Krell"s ships are here.
Keep working.
Archer to Enterprise, Tell the Klingons we have the cure.
Enterprise, respond.
This is Fleet Admiral Krell, I"m under orders to eradicate this colony.
You don"t have to do that.
My Doctor can stop the plague.
I have a more effective solution.
Hello, Admiral Krell.
This is Dr.
Phlox.
I am transmitting the details of an antivirus.
Feel free to have your physicians confirm my findings and you"re welcome to call with any questions.
My orders are clear, Captain Archer your ships are now the property of the Klingon Empire.
Stand down or be destroyed.
Proceed as planned.
Leave nothing standing.
The lead ship"s moving into a lower orbit.
- They"re charging weapons.
- Intercept course.
Columbia, - I can"t get through.
- They"re firing on the colony.
Target their disruptors.
How strong are the shields around this place? Not strong enough! You said you had two ships in orbit! I"m sure they"re doing everything they can.
Archer to Enterprise, They"re closing from astern.
Aft cannons are down.
Columbia to Enterprise, Looked like you could use a hand.
Let"s keep those ships off their tail.
Your ships are taking damage.
- How much longer? - As I said, another few hours.
Can you speed that up a little? Phlox, I"ve got an idea.
If we wanna get out of here in one piece we"ve gotta get that cure and we"ve got to get it fast.
I could finish the antivirus in less time if I had a human host to replicate enough antibodies.
I don"t see any other humans around.
Captain, I would have to expose you to the plague.
I cannot predict what it might do to you.
- Will it give you the cure? - Unquestionably.
Let"s get started.
What do you intend to do? This virus may be our best weapon against Krell.
Ready when you are.
One of the ships is losing power.
- Their port nacelle is vulnerable.
- Then fire at will.
In addition to the virus, I"m injecting you with a metabolic catalyst to accelerate your immune response.
It won"t be pleasant.
It"s no use.
I can"t penetrate their shields.
Commander.
I"ve broken through their jamming frequencies.
T"Pol to Captain Archer.
Captain, respond! Doctor Phlox here.
The Captain is indisposed at the moment.
I imagine you have your hands full up there, To say the least.
We have a plan to defuse the situation but we"ll need a few more minutes to carry it out.
I"d appreciate it if you could keep the ceiling from caving in on us until then.
Understood, - How much hull plating do we have left? -62%.
Mr.
Mayweather, put us directly between that cruiser and the colony.
You may wanna divert all available power to our dorsal plating.
Aye, aye.
It"s working.
- They"re shifting their orbit.
- Stay with them.
- Hull plating"s down to 40%.
- Keep firing.
Captain Hernandez, please direct your weapons at the battle cruiser.
Wish I could help.
We just lost our weapons.
It"s done.
Hold him.
We"ve got it! Is the canister ready? It"s set to disperse five seconds after transport.
Send it.
Open a channel to Krell.
Hull plating"s nearly down.
We can"t hold this position much longer.
Admiral Krell, Dr.
Phlox again.
By now you may have noticed the small package which we sent to your Bridge, What you may not know is that it contains a potent sample of the metagenic virus, Even as we speak, it is dispersing throughout your ship - infecting you and your crew, - You"re lying! Check your internal sensors, You will find that the atmosphere contains approximately 20 parts per million of the viral strain.
Or if you don"t trust your sensors, trust your senses.
You will feel the initial symptoms in about 30 minutes.
A tightness in the chest, irregular heartbeat tingling in your cranial ridges, This is a cowardly attack! Maybe so.
But I am prepared to give you the cure.
Thanks to Captain Archer, I have managed to complete the antivirus.
Of course, if you destroy this colony, well treating you and your crew could prove difficult.
I suggest you power down your weapons, Admiral and let me cure your people.
Captain's Starlog, Supplemental, Admiral Krell has convinced the High Council to call off their sterilization program, They've promised to distribute Phlox's cure throughout the Empire, There"s no trace of the virus in your bloodstream.
My targ won"t even recognize me.
In the future, it may be possible to reverse the cosmetic effects.
I suppose this is what I deserve.
Millions of my people will have to live with this disfigurement.
It"ll be passed on to our children.
Life won"t be easy for us.
You did your best to correct your mistakes.
That"s all we can ask of ourselves.
I doubt my superiors will allow me to remain in my position.
I"ll need to find a new specialty.
Perhaps cranial reconstruction.
I have a feeling that"s about to become very popular.
I"m grateful for everything that you"ve done.
How are you feeling? Not too bad, aside from some strange cravings.
A plateful of live gagh sounds pretty good right now.
The cravings should disappear in a day or so, along with your ridges.
No, I"d keep them if I were you, Captain.
It makes you look intimidating.
I should get back on the road.
One of us needs to get some exploring done.
Thanks for your help.
I don"t know how you survived all these years without me.
Shouldn"t you be joining her? I asked Trip to stick around for a little while to help us out with repairs.
Indeed.
Our new Chief Engineer will no doubt be delighted for the help.
No, Kelby"s got nothing to be worried about.
I"m only here temporarily.
- What do you want? - I called to thank you, Everything went according to our projections, The Empire's been stabilized, I doubt very much they'll be experimenting with Augments any time soon, We could"ve explained everything to Captain Archer.
That's not how Krell wanted things done, Since when do we do things the way the Klingons want? When it's in our interest, I had to keep certain details from you as well, I hope there are no hard feelings, This mission wouldn't have succeeded without you, Lieutenant, Don"t ever contact me again.
Is that clear? Maybe you didn't understand our recruitment policy, You can't simply walk away, I answer to one Commanding Officer, Jonathan Archer.
Lieutenant, why don't we-
A virus is spreading from planet to planet.
Millions are already infected.
What do you want with me? If this continues, the Klingon species will cease to exist.
There"s a job that needs doing, Lieutenant.
It may be the only way to save your friend"s life.
You don"t seriously expect me to help you create Klingon Augments? Take him.
The Malcolm Reed I know would give his life before committing treason.
There are some obligations that go beyond my loyalty to you and this crew.
- T'Pol to Captain Archer, - Go ahead, The warp matrix has been compromised by a Klingon subroutine, It"s infiltrated our command protocols.
Pressure"s increasing again.
- Take us to warp 5.
2.
- Sir, we can"t hold that speed for long.
We're out of options, Travis, And now, the conclusion, We've 47 minutes until our reactor breaches, What did the Klingons do to it? They altered our engineering subroutines.
If we go below warp 5, the reactor"s going to explode.
- How can I help? - I"ve just been talking with Trip.
Columbia can rendezvous with us in 30 minutes.
He says he can restore the subroutines.
- He can't do that from Columbia.
- We're gonna bring him on board, The Transporter won't operate at warp and docking's out of the question, Trip told me you have experience transferring personnel at warp speed, In training exercises, yes, but at warp speed 1, Every move was rehearsed in simulators for weeks.
We don't have weeks, We'll have to merge our warp field with Columbia"s.
T"Pol"s doing the calculations now.
At warp 5, we'll have to move within 50 meters of each other, Has anyone ever done this before? Travis can handle the flying, Can you get Trip over here? You"ll have to let me out of this Brig.
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 Commander Tucker, are you ready for this? As ready as I"ll ever be.
Open a channel.
- Columbia to Enterprise.
- This is Archer.
We're matching speed and trajectory as requested, Stand by, Columbia, Archer to Reed.
- Go ahead, - We're in position, Have them start their rotation, Coming up on 100 meters.
This is the Bridge.
All hands brace for warp field contact.
Hold her steady, Travis or Chef will know who to blame for the mess in the galley, We"re at 50 meters and holding.
Make sure everything"s ready for Trip in Engineering.
Archer to Reed.
You"re all clear.
Understood, Columbia, I'm deploying the tether, Nice shooting, Malcolm, Tucker to Captain Hernandez, - Go ahead, - I'm heading out, Quick as you can, Commander, Never thought I'd see the stars like this, Eyes on the cable, Commander.
I need you back here in one piece.
You're doing fine, Trip, T"Pol, what"s happening? I"m reading a fluctuation in the warp field.
Take power from life support if you have to, but keep the field constant.
Sir, I"m having trouble holding position.
Don't mean to be a pest, but could someone tell me what's going on? You're almost here, Trip, Keep going, Engineering, report! I"m re-routing power now, Captain.
Stand by.
The tethers at its limit! Hurry up! T"Pol to the Bridge.
It"s not working.
Field is still fluctuating.
Almost there! Permission to come aboard? Bridge, I have him, - You all right, Trip? - I'll feel a lot better when this is over, There's only one way to do this, Captain; a cold start, I have to shut down the reactor, and re-set the algorithms, Once we bring the warp engine back online the subroutines should be back to normal, But if we shut down the reactor- That's why we need to move inside Columbia"s warp field, They can sustain our speed while I re-initialize the engines, They won"t be able to hold us for more than a minute or two.
- They don"t have enough power.
- I've got a shortcut in mind, Shortcut? Those subroutines would take hours to decrypt, Better just to purge them, wipe them clean, I"ll contact Columbia, I"ll contact Columbia, What are they here for? The Captain and I have had a slight misunderstanding.
How slight? These gentlemen are here to escort me back to the Brig.
Don"t worry, I"ll tell you all about it when we"re not quite so busy.
Fancy meeting you here.
- Intermix pressure? -1527.
- Field variance? -87 millicochranes.
Somebody hasn"t been taking very good care of my engine.
Speak with the Klingons.
- What are you doing? - You might want to take notes.
I"m about to perform a manual shutdown and re-start in less than two minutes.
- That"s not possible.
- Watch me.
- Columbia to Enterprise, - Go ahead.
I've routed everything I've got to my warp field, Do me a favor, Jonathan.
Make this quick.
Archer to Trip.
Ready when you are.
Stand by! Everyone get away from the bulkheads! It"s gonna get a little hot in here! Reactor shut down in five, four three, two, one! T"Pol, prime the injectors.
- Jenkins, man the relays.
- Yes, sir.
Columbia to Enterprise, You"ve got about 40 seconds.
Understood.
Trip, how's it going? - Just another minute, Captain.
- You don't have a minute, Get ready to initialize the matrix! Enterprise, we"re losing the field.
Almost there.
Full power to containment.
Fire up the antimatter stream! Ten seconds, Nine, eight, seven, six, Commander! - Here we go! - Four, three, two, We"ve got warp power.
Engineering to the Bridge.
Subroutines have been purged.
- Appreciate the house call, Mr, Tucker, - Anytime.
I'd like to drop to impulse for a while, Captain, just to check things over, Stand by.
Enterprise to Columbia, Thanks for the lift.
You"re not getting away with my Chief Engineer that easily.
- Any plans for the next few days? - What"ve you got in mind? Phlox.
This will help.
My apologies for the General"s conduct.
So cruel.
This is no way to treat a man of science.
Then end it.
Contact Starfleet.
My people need you, Phlox.
We have no healers with your abilities.
You want me to create Klingon Augments, living weapons.
I won"t do it.
No.
I"ve been reviewing your work.
It"s brilliant! You have discovered a weakness in the virus causing the plague.
If we interrupt the transcription sequence here Yes.
That would stop the genetic effects of the virus in Stage One.
There"d be changes of appearance, some minor neural reordering but no development of Stage Two characteristics.
No enhanced strength or speed or endurance.
But then General K"Vagh would not get his Augments.
He would never allow it.
What if we don"t tell him? Do you understand what will happen if the General learns that we"ve deceived him? The cure would save millions of innocent lives.
What more honorable death could there be for a healer Klingon or Denobulan? Captain's Starlog, Supplemental, I've asked Columbia to join us in our search for Phlox, We'll have a better chance of making it through Klingon territory with twice the firepower, I don"t suppose you can tell me where I"m going this time? No, I didn"t think so.
- Those are my personal files.
- Not when they affect my ship.
T"Pol restored everything you tried to erase.
We ran his face and voiceprint through our database.
His name"s Harris.
He worked in Starfleet Security up till five years ago.
After that, his file ends.
Captain - there"s nothing more I can add.
- I won"t accept that! You endangered every member of this crew.
You answer to me.
I thought I knew you, Malcolm.
Whatever hold this Harris has on you you could"ve come to me.
- I"m under orders.
- I"m your Commanding Officer! If you don"t tell me what"s going on, I"ll go to Starfleet.
Whatever you think you"ve been trying to keep hidden is going to come out.
Is that what you want? I can"t tell you what I don"t know.
Then let me talk to someone who can.
Send a message to Harris.
Has the House of Phlox always been one of healers? There is no House of Phlox.
Denobulan family units are different from Klingons.
Yes, I"ve heard.
Three wives for each husband.
Three husbands for each wife.
Your mating practices must be very complex.
Wondrously so.
- What about the House of Antaak? - We are a warrior caste.
When I became a healer, my father disowned me.
As a physician in the Imperial Fleet, you"ve served in the military.
Not as well as I should have.
I did not screen my subjects properly.
This plague, all its victims it"s my fault.
My failure is the reason you"re here.
The humans could not stop us.
I am your superior.
You will salute.
Now, report.
Enterprise was destroyed.
Starfleet will think it was her engines.
One of you is missing.
Your son was slow.
The humans killed him.
Did he die with honor? He let humans kill him.
Report.
- Dr.
Phlox has made excellent progress.
- Details.
I"ve identified the RNA sequences that code- Details I can pass on to my superiors.
I know where to look for the switch that will turn off the virus.
- How long until you find it? - An hour.
One hour.
What do you want? - I have news for the High Council.
- Explain.
The Denobulan is close to perfecting the Augments' genome, The Council has shut down your project.
If you sterilize this colony, then all our research will be lost, The fleet will reach you in three days, If you're successful by the time we get to orbit, Qu'Vat will be spared, Captain, it"s gonna be a while before everything"s back to normal in Engineering.
Can Kelby handle it? I could pull a little double duty to help him out.
I could check with Captain Hernandez.
Something else? What the hell"s going on with Malcolm? Nothing I can get into right now.
Fair enough.
Guess I"d better get back to Columbia, I"ll walk with you.
Are you enjoying your time aboard Columbia? Sure, why wouldn"t I? You haven"t been experiencing any problems? Such as? Adjusting to new food, new routines trouble sleeping.
- I sleep just fine.
How about you? - Fine.
- You sure about that? - Quite.
Your hour is up.
- We are getting the test results now.
- We are running out of time! General, I know the Klingon fleet is on its way and I understand what this project cost you, personally.
- Antaak told me about your son.
- He died in combat for the Empire.
At least he was spared the final stage of this disease.
May I ask how he was infected? Command chose his unit for the Augment experiment when we had exhausted our supply of prisoners.
My son was a warrior.
He asked for no special treatment, and I gave him none.
- What"d they give you? - It"s dead.
I can"t eat that.
No wonder you"re all so weak.
- Physical strength isn"t everything.
- Well, you can"t win wars without it.
Being smart is more important.
General Sun Tzu said that the greatest victories are those won without fighting.
The great Kahless said there"s no victory without combat.
Do you ever question why you fight? Soldiers don"t question.
They obey.
What if your superiors are wrong? They"re imprisoned, or killed.
That"s not how we do things in Starfleet.
Which is why the Klingon Empire will defeat you.
Then how come you"re in the same Brig that I"m in? You said we"d become stronger.
This is what you"ve done to us.
He will become infectious so he should be quarantined.
We"ll remain here.
If we"re going to die, we"ll die together as comrades.
Be patient, Lieutenant.
The Denobulan is working to stabilize the human DNA.
You will all be healthy again, and stronger than any Klingon.
- Will he restore our appearance? - I don"t know.
How do you expect us to return home looking like this? We will be outcasts.
There will be no place for us in the Empire.
Your heart is still Klingon.
Are you certain of that? During the battle with the Starfleet ship I felt fear for the first time since I was a child.
I wasn"t alone.
I could see it in the eyes of the others.
We"ve become like them.
Weak, cowardly.
It would be better for us to die.
As long as I draw breath the Empire will not turn its back on you.
I get the feeling you miss Phlox, too.
Maybe it"s just the stash of cheese he"s got in Sickbay.
Hold that thought.
Captain Archer, I'm told you have some questions for me, - Where"s my doctor? - He's safe on a mission of great importance to Starfleet, Phlox was kidnapped.
Starfleet would never authorize that.
Reread the Charter, Article 14, Section 31, There are a few lines that make allowances for bending the rules during times of extraordinary threat, - What threat? - Take your pick, - Earth's got a lot of enemies, - Klingons attacked my ship.
Is that what we"re talking about? What I wanna talk about is Lieutenant Reed, He's done good work for us over the years, Don't be too hard on him, He was just following my orders, You put him in an impossible position.
I can understand why you would feel that way but this is bigger than one captain, and one ship, You"re gonna have to do better than that.
All I can tell you is that if you interfere before Phlox completes his assignment the repercussions will affect entire worlds, One of these four strains has the genetic trigger that can neutralize the virus before it advances to its lethal stage.
Which one? I don"t know yet.
That"s why I have to check each of them.
How long will it take? A week.
Your fleet can quarantine this world, while I complete my tests.
Sterilization is not necessary.
Fleet Admiral Krell will not extend his deadline.
The only possible way to get results on Krell"s schedule is to infect four healthy Klingons.
You have four right here! Only one of these strains will work.
The other three will be lethal.
- Ethically, it"s unthinkable! - The ethics, Doctor, are simple.
Three lives to save millions.
At first, it didn"t seem like lying.
- What else would you call it? - Covert operations.
I was a young ensign, it was exciting.
- How do you feel about it now? - I thought it was done.
This is the first time that Harris has contacted me since I"ve served on Enterprise, He told me about the plague.
He said they needed Phlox to help the Klingons find a cure.
I was supposed to just slow us down.
Did Harris tell you about this? I had T"Pol take a closer look at our prisoner"s medical scans.
It"s human DNA.
I"m guessing the plague is a side-effect of a military experiment that went wrong.
I didn"t know.
Harris claims he"s doing this because Starfleet needs a stable Klingon Empire.
Do you believe him? I don"t trust him.
If the Klingons needed our help, there are easier ways to get it.
I wanted to tell you everything, Captain.
There"s a way out of this.
I don"t have to put you back in the Brig but you have to choose where your loyalties lie.
I wasn"t told where Phlox was taken but Starfleet Intelligence believes the Klingons have a genetic research facility on Qu"Vat Colony.
As you were.
- How long until we reach Qu"Vat? - Six hours, sir.
Captain, we need to be ready for Klingon patrols.
I suggest that Columbia withdraws to a safer distance so that we don"t make a single target.
Open a channel to Captain Hernandez.
Why did you think you"d succeed in perfecting Augments when Dr.
Soong failed? Soong"s mistake was that he made too few of them.
Earth once had thousands.
They became tyrannical and started a war.
- Klingons have discipline.
- Augments don"t.
Their increased aggression is matched by their decreased inhibitions.
You"d lose control of them, just as humans did.
How long until we know which one of us survives? An hour, at most.
Would bloodwine affect the results? I don"t believe so.
Then we shall drink to the bravery of these warriors.
- Doctor! - Never on the job.
We know Phlox was taken to Qu"Vat Colony to work on a cure.
We"re gonna be there in less than an hour.
Krell"s patrols will crush you.
They"ve all been recalled to enforce quarantine zones.
Phlox will be in the medical facility.
We need the coordinates.
If you don"t wanna help us, help your people.
My brothers.
They"re quite ill.
So are you.
Try to rest.
Doctor.
The two guards are displaying the first symptoms.
That accounts for two of the three lethal strains.
So either General K"Vagh lives, or I do.
It"s the General, isn"t it? His strain has the cure.
If we work quickly, there"s a chance we can treat you in time.
- What now? - There's been a complication, Another one? This time, your people failed to stop Enterprise.
It's on its way to Qu'Vat, with Columbia.
- Order them to withdraw.
- You know I don't have that authority, - Then I"ll destroy them.
- We had an arrangement, You did what I wanted.
I don"t need you anymore.
You agreed that both our governments would benefit if the two of us worked together, And you believed me.
Load the amino acids.
I"ll extract the viral DNA from his blood.
- Captain.
- You all right? Better, now that you"re here.
Father.
I was told that you had been killed.
- The humans spared me.
- I came to get my doctor back.
- We need him here.
- I have two ships in orbit, heavily armed.
Gentlemen, please.
I think I can speak for myself.
Captain.
I need a little more time to cure this plague.
Cure? You were supposed to perfect the Augment genome! I lied.
Your son may be alive but he will not survive much longer unless I complete my work.
A few hours, Captain.
That"s all I ask.
Several million patients are counting on it.
Commander three Klingon battle cruisers have just dropped out of warp.
Open a channel to Columbia, The Klingons are jamming everything.
- What is it? - Krell"s ships are here.
Keep working.
Archer to Enterprise, Tell the Klingons we have the cure.
Enterprise, respond.
This is Fleet Admiral Krell, I"m under orders to eradicate this colony.
You don"t have to do that.
My Doctor can stop the plague.
I have a more effective solution.
Hello, Admiral Krell.
This is Dr.
Phlox.
I am transmitting the details of an antivirus.
Feel free to have your physicians confirm my findings and you"re welcome to call with any questions.
My orders are clear, Captain Archer your ships are now the property of the Klingon Empire.
Stand down or be destroyed.
Proceed as planned.
Leave nothing standing.
The lead ship"s moving into a lower orbit.
- They"re charging weapons.
- Intercept course.
Columbia, - I can"t get through.
- They"re firing on the colony.
Target their disruptors.
How strong are the shields around this place? Not strong enough! You said you had two ships in orbit! I"m sure they"re doing everything they can.
Archer to Enterprise, They"re closing from astern.
Aft cannons are down.
Columbia to Enterprise, Looked like you could use a hand.
Let"s keep those ships off their tail.
Your ships are taking damage.
- How much longer? - As I said, another few hours.
Can you speed that up a little? Phlox, I"ve got an idea.
If we wanna get out of here in one piece we"ve gotta get that cure and we"ve got to get it fast.
I could finish the antivirus in less time if I had a human host to replicate enough antibodies.
I don"t see any other humans around.
Captain, I would have to expose you to the plague.
I cannot predict what it might do to you.
- Will it give you the cure? - Unquestionably.
Let"s get started.
What do you intend to do? This virus may be our best weapon against Krell.
Ready when you are.
One of the ships is losing power.
- Their port nacelle is vulnerable.
- Then fire at will.
In addition to the virus, I"m injecting you with a metabolic catalyst to accelerate your immune response.
It won"t be pleasant.
It"s no use.
I can"t penetrate their shields.
Commander.
I"ve broken through their jamming frequencies.
T"Pol to Captain Archer.
Captain, respond! Doctor Phlox here.
The Captain is indisposed at the moment.
I imagine you have your hands full up there, To say the least.
We have a plan to defuse the situation but we"ll need a few more minutes to carry it out.
I"d appreciate it if you could keep the ceiling from caving in on us until then.
Understood, - How much hull plating do we have left? -62%.
Mr.
Mayweather, put us directly between that cruiser and the colony.
You may wanna divert all available power to our dorsal plating.
Aye, aye.
It"s working.
- They"re shifting their orbit.
- Stay with them.
- Hull plating"s down to 40%.
- Keep firing.
Captain Hernandez, please direct your weapons at the battle cruiser.
Wish I could help.
We just lost our weapons.
It"s done.
Hold him.
We"ve got it! Is the canister ready? It"s set to disperse five seconds after transport.
Send it.
Open a channel to Krell.
Hull plating"s nearly down.
We can"t hold this position much longer.
Admiral Krell, Dr.
Phlox again.
By now you may have noticed the small package which we sent to your Bridge, What you may not know is that it contains a potent sample of the metagenic virus, Even as we speak, it is dispersing throughout your ship - infecting you and your crew, - You"re lying! Check your internal sensors, You will find that the atmosphere contains approximately 20 parts per million of the viral strain.
Or if you don"t trust your sensors, trust your senses.
You will feel the initial symptoms in about 30 minutes.
A tightness in the chest, irregular heartbeat tingling in your cranial ridges, This is a cowardly attack! Maybe so.
But I am prepared to give you the cure.
Thanks to Captain Archer, I have managed to complete the antivirus.
Of course, if you destroy this colony, well treating you and your crew could prove difficult.
I suggest you power down your weapons, Admiral and let me cure your people.
Captain's Starlog, Supplemental, Admiral Krell has convinced the High Council to call off their sterilization program, They've promised to distribute Phlox's cure throughout the Empire, There"s no trace of the virus in your bloodstream.
My targ won"t even recognize me.
In the future, it may be possible to reverse the cosmetic effects.
I suppose this is what I deserve.
Millions of my people will have to live with this disfigurement.
It"ll be passed on to our children.
Life won"t be easy for us.
You did your best to correct your mistakes.
That"s all we can ask of ourselves.
I doubt my superiors will allow me to remain in my position.
I"ll need to find a new specialty.
Perhaps cranial reconstruction.
I have a feeling that"s about to become very popular.
I"m grateful for everything that you"ve done.
How are you feeling? Not too bad, aside from some strange cravings.
A plateful of live gagh sounds pretty good right now.
The cravings should disappear in a day or so, along with your ridges.
No, I"d keep them if I were you, Captain.
It makes you look intimidating.
I should get back on the road.
One of us needs to get some exploring done.
Thanks for your help.
I don"t know how you survived all these years without me.
Shouldn"t you be joining her? I asked Trip to stick around for a little while to help us out with repairs.
Indeed.
Our new Chief Engineer will no doubt be delighted for the help.
No, Kelby"s got nothing to be worried about.
I"m only here temporarily.
- What do you want? - I called to thank you, Everything went according to our projections, The Empire's been stabilized, I doubt very much they'll be experimenting with Augments any time soon, We could"ve explained everything to Captain Archer.
That's not how Krell wanted things done, Since when do we do things the way the Klingons want? When it's in our interest, I had to keep certain details from you as well, I hope there are no hard feelings, This mission wouldn't have succeeded without you, Lieutenant, Don"t ever contact me again.
Is that clear? Maybe you didn't understand our recruitment policy, You can't simply walk away, I answer to one Commanding Officer, Jonathan Archer.
Lieutenant, why don't we-