Home > Star Trek: Enterprise

Stratagem

( rumbling )

( alarm beeping )

Who are you?

They're targeting our engines!

What do you want with me?

ARCHER: You're the weapons expert.

See if you can get those shields back online.

( grunting )

If we don't raise the shields, the only thing that's gonna be left of this ship is a cloud of vapor!

( beeping continues )

Insectoids!

ARCHER: These could be shield emitters.

They're not gonna last for long.

Open a channel to those ships.

-What? -They're Xindi!

I'll order them to hold their fire.

It's been a long time since any Xindi took orders from you.

( ammunition firing )

ARCHER: We're carrying 500 liters of warp plasma in the starboard tanks.

We'll have to vent it.

Turn these down on my mark.

They're gonna destroy us!

Now!

( beeping stops )

( sighs )

What happened?

The plasma got into their intake manifolds.

Their engines are overheating.

I want to know who you are.

Why you've abducted me.

You really don't remember.

( sighs )

I was afraid this might happen.

It's me... Archer.

What species are you?

You've been through a lot in the last two days.

-Just let me figure out-- -What species?

I'm human.

You're from the Earth vessel.

Degra, you have to listen to me.

I'm not your enemy anymore.

You've spent the last two days in an interrogation chamber.

Whatever the Insectoids did to you in there must have affected your memory.

My name is Jonathan Archer.

The two of us just escaped from an Insectoid prison colony.

Prison?

We've shared a cell for almost three years.

That's not possible.

Roll up your sleeve.

The conflict between our people is over.

We both lost.

I promise I'll explain everything.

But right now we have to get out of here, before our friends out there repair their engines.

-What are you doin'? -There's a system about a week from here.

It's isolated.

I doubt they'll look for us there.

( rumbling )

♪ It's been a long road ♪

♪ Getting 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 ♪

{\an8}♪ 'Cause I've got faith ♪

{\an8}♪ Of the heart ♪

♪ I'm going where my heart will take me ♪

♪ I've got faith to believe ♪

{\an8}♪ I can do anything ♪

{\an8}♪ 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 ♪

{\an8}♪ I've got, I've got, I've got ♪

{\an8}♪ I've got faith ♪

♪ Faith of the heart ♪

You expect me to believe my own people would hold me prisoner?

( chuckles )

You think that's amusing?

It's been a while since you referred to those overgrown grasshoppers as your "own people."

{\an8}Why don't I remember you?

{\an8}Probably because of the bloodworms.

{\an8}Bloodworms?

{\an8}They're used during interrogations.

{\an8}Their secretions act as a truth serum.

{\an8}Makes the prisoners more cooperative.

But there's a side effect.

Sometimes they can suppress memories.

The same thing happened when they questioned me.

I forgot everything that happened since flight school.

{\an8}It'll start to come back to you. Give it a few days.

{\an8}You claim that I've been a prisoner for three years.

{\an8}Three years.

{\an8}It that's true, why would they question me now?

{\an8}They wanted information about the weapon.

{\an8}What kind of information?

{\an8}This is gonna take some time.

{\an8}What's the last thing you remember?

{\an8}I was on my vessel,

{\an8}approaching a planet in the Calindra system.

{\an8}The weapon test.

{\an8}It failed because your prototype was sabotaged.

{\an8}How would you know that?

{\an8}Because I'm responsible for it.

{\an8}Your Kemocite shipment was tampered with.

{\an8}Gralik.

{\an8}He wasn't too happy when I told him

{\an8}what you were planning to do with his Kemocite.

{\an8}He'll be executed for this.

{\an8}He was.

In the end, it didn't make much of a difference.

We didn't stop your program. We only slowed it down.

A few weeks later, the weapon was launched.

It destroyed my planet.

We were successful?

I don't know if you'd call it a success.

After Earth was destroyed, the old Xindi rivalries surfaced again.

The Insectoids started attacking other Xindi colonies.

They killed thousands of your people.

The Reptilians and Aquatics would never allow that.

There wasn't a lot they could do.

While you were busy constructing the weapon, the Insectoids were secretly building hundreds of new ships.

They used Earth as a diversion.

Their real goal was to dominate the other Xindi species.

Are you all right?

It's just a bloodworm.

It'll work its way out.

Can you remove it?

Hold still.

I think you need this more than I do.

Suit yourself.

I don't understand how a Xindi and a human could put aside their differences so quickly.

( chuckles ) Trust me, it didn't happen overnight.

You gave me this the first day we were locked up together.

The guards thought it would be entertaining to put us in the same cell.

They even placed wagers on who would survive the longest.

I was in pretty bad shape at the time, so you were the odds-on favorite.

Your people killed everyone I ever cared about.

I was gonna make sure you never walked out of that cell.

For weeks, we tried to kill each other.

I was lying in the infirmary when I finally asked myself, what was the point?

My world was gone, but so was yours.

So I made a proposal.

The two of us would work together to get out of that place.

It took us longer than either one of us thought.

( chuckles )

Here we are.

I don't recognize this type of ship.

It's a Malosian cargo shuttle.

-Malosian? -They're traders.

They bring supplies to the prison a few times a month.

No weapons, but she's sturdy enough to get us where we're going.

Perhaps we should set a course to your vessel.

Is it still in the expanse?

Not exactly.

When we were getting close to finding your weapon, the Insectoids sent their ships after us.

They boarded Enterprise and took me prisoner.

Then they planted spatial charges around our warp reactor.

My crew was still aboard when they detonated them.

The Insectoids were always an aggressive species, but I never thought them capable of this.

They destroyed everything the Council worked for.

The Council?

It was formed when our planet was destroyed.

It was created to find a new homeworld for all Xindi.

After years of searching, we found a few suitable locations, but, as usual, couldn't agree on a final choice.

Our plan for reunification was put aside when we learned of the threat from Earth.

I was ordered to begin designing the weapon.

I devoted years to it.

I made so many sacrifices.

So did my wife.

Do I know...

What happened to my family?

You told me you'd heard from Naara before you were sent to prison.

She and the children were safe.

We have a ship now.

We can look for them.

They were on a colony near a Red Giant.

( computer beeping )

There's nothing in range. Do you remember the coordinates?

I doubt if there's anything left.

It would've been one of the first colonies to have been attacked.

There may have been survivors.

It's too dangerous.

The patrol ships are still looking for us.

We should find a refuge in case--

( hissing )

Reactor coolant.

The conduit must have ruptured in the attack.

( both coughing )

-Take it. -What about you?

You're the one with a family.

You want to see them again?

Try to seal the rupture.

I'll see if I can... ( coughs ) close off the coolant tanks.

( coughing )

( gasps )

( coughing )

( hisses )

T'Pol.

He should remain unconscious for at least two hours.

The son of a bitch designed the weapon.

Keep an eye on him.

Trip.

-What have we got? -There are seven Red Giants in this region but they're spread over approximately 40 light-years.

Can we scan them for a weapons facility?

( sighs ) Not at this distance.

This Red Giant might be a red herring.

He only told you his family was living near one of these stars.

We don't know that the weapon's there.

Degra's a senior official.

We know he's designing the weapon.

There's a chance he'd keep his family close by.

For a moment I thought he was gonna give you the coordinates.

Too bad he didn't go for the Andorian ale.

That would've loosened him up.

You appear to have gained his trust.

Perhaps you should try a more direct approach.

What do you mean?

Ask him where the weapon is being constructed.

It's too risky.

If he suspects something, we'll end up right back where we started.

He'll tell me.

I just need a little more time.

{\an8}ARCHER: Captain's starlog, December 12, 2153.

We've returned to the site where the Xindi

were testing the prototype weapon.

An analysis of the debris may tell us more about it.

( sensors beeping )

I'm picking up a ship at the edge of the system.

It's Xindi.

-Why didn't we see it before? -It may have been traveling through one of the subspace vortices they use.

Its hull signature matches the Xindi ships that were here two days ago.

Captain, I'm reading three bio-signs on board.

Have they seen us yet?

I don't believe so.

Set course for the inner moon.

Stand by to deploy the sensor drones.

( rumbling )

-( alarm beeping ) -What's that?

Weapons fire.

From where?

There's a ship closing. It's the human vessel.

You said there was no one in the system!

They must have been hiding in the debris.

-Contact the Council! -( beeping )

They've disabled our subspace transceiver!

They're making a run for it.

See what you can do about their engines.

They're not going anywhere, sir.

Hail them.

Stand down and prepare to be boarded.

Thalen.

Anything?

They were attempting to erase the computer core when we boarded the ship.

There's very little data left.

What about navigational logs?

They've been deleted.

I may have something here, sir.

I think these are fragments from a personal file.

There are parts of a letter from someone named "Degra."

-Does it mention the weapon? -No.

There's a reference to a planet he visited recently.

Azati Prime.

Let me know what else you find.

I'd love to spend an afternoon taking this engine apart.

Not your typical Nacelle configuration?

Uh-uh. Look how everything's tied in through their main deflector.

Learn everything you can.

( engines humming )

I want to know where you're building the weapon.

I don't know what you're talking about.

The hell you don't.

Your name is Degra.

I was at the Xindi colony when you picked up your shipment of Kemocite.

Your people are planning another attack.

I'm not gonna let that happen.

By capturing us, you've accomplished nothing.

Where's the weapon?

Archer to the bridge, report.

There's a surge in the plasma network.

ARCHER: What's causing it?

Radiation from the debris field. It's starting to affect our systems.

Sir, I recommend putting a safe distance between us and the test site.

ARCHER: All right.

Take the ship out of the field but keep us close by.

Understood.

If you won't tell me what I need to know, perhaps one of your men will.

When my superiors learn we're missing, they'll find your ship and destroy it.

We could try a truth serum, but it could take weeks to synthesize the correct formula.

I've been studying Xindi neurophysiology.

It may be possible to erase his most recent memory engrams.

That way, Degra will never know that he came aboard or that he met any of us.

But this is a Xindi-Reptilian.

Would it work on a primate?

Their neural pathways are virtually identical.

I'll need to perform a few tests, but, uh, I don't expect it will be a problem.

How selective could this memory wipe be?

I've built flight simulators for Starfleet training.

This wouldn't be that different.

It's not simply a matter of constructing a shuttle.

It has to be designed.

What species built it?

What language will the control interface use?

Hoshi can help with that.

I've recovered a letter Degra wrote to his wife a few months ago.

Her name's Naara. They have two children.

It may be necessary to communicate with you while you're inside the simulator.

The Macos use subdermal transceivers.

They're relatively easy to implant.

Let's get started.

T'Pol, I could use your help with some of the details.

Details?

If he buys into this, Degra's gonna want to know everything that's happened in the last three years.

I can't make up the whole story on the spot.

Nice work.

Thank you.

Dermal art used to be very common on Denobula.

Fortunately, my parents insisted I study it.

Ah... I've also stimulated his hair follicles.

I'm not sure about the gray.

This is only supposed to be three years from now.

Ah, but you're forgetting about the stress of imprisonment, hmm, and torture!

It could very well have an effect on hair pigmentation.

-You're sure these are safe? -Oh, yes.

I've treated patients with Regulan bloodworms for years.

There should be no side effects aside from a thoroughly cleansed lymphatic system.

Please try not to injure it. They're difficult to replace.

I'll do my best.

( rumbling, alarm beeping )

What is it?

Spatial anomalies.

We're passing through a field of them.

Hold on!

T'Pol to cargo bay 2.

Increase hydraulics to level 6.

-Is the hull lined with trellium? -Obviously not.

Increase to level 7.

On my mark, initiate a sharp jolt to starboard.

How sharp do you want it?

Sharp.

You heard the lady.

T'POL: Let the Captain know.

This is gonna be a rough one, sir.

-( rumbling continues ) -( groaning )

We're losing structural integrity!

I'm taking us out of warp.

( breathing heavily )

We'll never make it through this field in one piece.

Can we go around?

We don't have enough fuel.

We should send a distress call.

One of your ships might be close enough to hear it.

What if the Insectoids pick it up?

We don't have a lot of choices.

There's a com channel used by high-ranking primate officials.

I doubt the Insectoids know it.

What's the frequency?

It would be easier for me to enter it directly.

Ensign?

-I've got it. -Stand by to respond.

-( communicator beeps ) -MALCOLM: Bridge to command center.

-Go ahead. -I'm picking up a distortion in subspace.

I believe it's a Xindi ship.

-How long until they arrive? -About six hours.

Their sensors are pretty sophisticated. They might see us long before then.

Lieutenant, take us back into the debris field.

MALCOLM: The radiation could overload our systems again.

I'm aware of the risks.

Carry out my orders.

Acknowledged.

( exhales )

One of the inmates told me all about Maarek III.

He used it as a staging area when he was smuggling dilithium.

What did he say it was like?

( sighs )

Beautiful.

With beaches that go on for thousands of kilometers.

First thing I'm gonna do is find a cold lake and take the longest bath of my life.

It sounded a lot like Earth, the way he described it.

The Captain's certainly drinking a lot.

The doctor gave him an anti-intoxicant.

This colony of yours, you never told me about it.

It was bleak, desolate.

The planet was barely habitable.

Why'd you live there?

It wasn't by choice.

Naara was desperate to leave.

She didn't think a military habitat was the right environment for the children.

Do you have a family, Captain?

It's been a long time since anyone called me "Captain."

It's Jonathan, remember?

I never really had an opportunity to start one.

I was away from home a lot.

You should make the time.

I've learned that our work, in the end, means very little.

Our real legacy is the children.

I would do anything to protect mine.

After I was told of the threat from humanity...

I left my theoretical studies and agreed to design the prototype weapon.

When it arrived in your star system,

I watched the incoming telemetry with the other members of the Council.

Seven million lives...

Were extinguished in front of my eyes.

I asked myself, how many of those were children?

I suppose I've told you this before.

Actually, you haven't.

Three years!

My children may not even recognize me after so much.

( beeping )

We're being hailed.

( static )

Whoever it is, they must be pretty far away.

I'll try to clear it up.

HOSHI (AS THALEN): Are you receiving this transmission?

This is Thalen, responding to your distress call.

Please acknowledge.

It's one of my colleagues.

Thalen! Can you hear me? It's Degra!

Degra? It's good to hear your voice.

I'd... I'd heard from my sources that you'd been captured by the Insectoids.

There were reports that you had been executed.

DEGRA: They haven't killed me yet. I need your help.

My friend and I have escaped from an Insectoid prison.

Their patrols are looking for us.

HOSHI: Uh, I'm losing your signal. Please repeat.

ARCHER: Better make it fast!

Thalen, where are you?

I'm on Azati Prime. It... It... It's safe here.

Is my family still there? Are they safe?

( static )

Thalen!

Naara is here and the children.

I'll... I'll tell them to expect you.

( static )

( line disconnects )

At least you know they're all right.

There were more than 1,000 primates and Arboreals at that colony.

I don't understand why it wasn't destroyed.

We should still change course. Do you know the coordinates?

What's wrong?

You must forgive me.

To me, it's been only a day since we were enemies.

Giving you the coordinates to a classified installation is... difficult.

Be my guest.

They're coming in.

1127.4 by 4052... by 3901.1.

( beeping )

A Red Giant.

Open a com line to the Captain.

You encrypted the navigation controls.

Yes.

T'POL: Captain, the coordinates match the location of one of the Red Giants.

Do you mind if I ask how long it will take to get there?

( sighs ) Not long.

T'POL: Approximately three weeks at maximum warp.

A considerable detour if the weapon isn't there.

What will your people think when you show up with me?

Humans probably aren't their favorite species.

I'll tell them everything you did to help me.

I'm a senior official. There won't be any problems.

I appreciate that.

It's a diverse community.

Far more pleasant than most military--

( rumbling )

-Travis? -The port hydraulics are acting up.

Shut them down.

They're not responding.

( over communicator ) T'Pol to cargo bay 2. Report.

The radiation from the debris is overloading the hydraulic system.

Can you stabilize the simulator?

TUCKER: I'm working on it.

-More anomalies? -I'm not sure.

Captain, we're having some problems. Stand by.

T'Pol to the bridge. Take us out of the debris field.

MALCOLM: Understood.

-( beep ) -MALCOLM: Bridge to the command center.

We're clear of the debris field.

Acknowledged.

What was the problem?

Subspace turbulence.

Really?

I'm curious... Jonathan.

If we've been friends for as long as you say,

I must have told you the names of my children.

You still don't believe me, do you?

There's something in his hand.

Magnify.

It's been years since you've said anything.

Captain, he has a weapon.

I just need you to tell me what their names are.

We're coming in.

This isn't necessary.

Piral and Jaina.

Piral and Jaina.

Which one is older?

It's not in here, sir.

( scoffs )

( both grunting )

( grunts )

You'll never find the weapon.

Take him to the brig.

( panting )

( door opens )

We were told humans were ruthless.

But I didn't know you were also skilled at deception.

When did you realize?

I had my suspicions from the beginning, but it was the com signal from my colleague on Azati Prime that confirmed them.

We know your ship has been there...

Recently.

There's an insectoid deuterium facility on Azati Prime.

That's the last place my people would have gone to hide from them.

If it weren't for that one mistake, your plan might have succeeded.

You gave us the coordinates of a Red Giant.

I gave you... what you thought you wanted.

I guess I'll just have to wipe your memory clean again.

Go back into the simulator and start this whole thing over.

I doubt there's time for that.

We both know my people are searching for me.

I think you didn't figure it out until after the malfunction.

I'd be willing to bet those coordinates are real.

Then I suggest you proceed there at maximum warp!

Why would he encrypt the coordinates if they weren't accurate?

Perhaps he thought it would make them appear more convincing.

He's got to be lyin', sir.

Something must have happened during the radiation surge that tipped him off.

We can't afford to lose three weeks if the weapon isn't there.

Have you learned anything more about how they open the subspace vortices?

They use some kind of phase deflector pulses.

Once they're in, their ships can travel half a dozen light-years in a couple of minutes.

I want to see all the data you've collected.

-( beep ) -Archer to the bridge.

We're ready.

Tactical alert.

Engage.

( rumbling )

Open it.

Sir.

You two, come with me.

I said move!

We'll fracture the hull if this goes on any longer.

FEMALE: Hull breaches on decks "D" and "E."

Emergency bulkheads!

-You're the engineer? -Yes.

You're gonna help us.

We adapted your technology, used our main deflector to open a subspace vortex.

That's impossible.

The vortex is starting to collapse. I need you to stabilize it.

If you don't do what he says, this ship will break apart.

Lieutenant!

Tell him to do what he's told.

Do nothing to help them!

The pylons are buckling!

HOSHI: Engineering, we're losing hull integrity.

( alarm beeping )

( panting )

Trip!

It wasn't me, Captain.

-( beeping ) -I'll be damned.

Travis inverted the warp field.

It dropped us back into normal space.

( over communicator ) T'Pol to Captain Archer.

Go ahead.

Please report to the bridge.

Take him back to the brig.

Report.

We've reached the coordinates. Ensign, magnify.

I'm picking up several Xindi vessels.

I'm also reading significant quantities of Kemocite.

What's our status?

Minimal damage.

The hull plating is coming back online.

Arm all weapons.

Lay in a course for those Kemocite signatures.

Full impulse.

Get him out of here.

You'll never get close to the weapon!

Our defense perimeter will destroy you!

Show him.

Thanks for your help.

Take him to sick bay.

( sighs )

I think you overdid the turbulence just a little, Ensign.

I'll try to do better next time, sir.

How's it coming?

We've made it appear as if a plasma conduit ruptured, rendering them unconscious.

I'm injecting them with trace amounts of the plasma.

It won't be harmful.

This accident won't explain how their computer core was deleted.

As long as they don't know we were here, we can leave them with a mystery.

-( communicator beeps ) -Go ahead.

MALCOLM: The Xindi vessel is less than an hour away, sir.

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.

Hopefully the journey to Azati Prime

will be the final leg in our search for the Xindi weapon.