Teaser
Soval appears before the Vulcan High Command to answer for his use of a mind meld on Corporal Askwith in sickbay on Enterprise NX-01. Soval states that he needed to conceal his abilities for the best interests of Vulcan. He felt that the service he performed outweighed his crime. V’Las states that although Soval’s record is impressive, there is no excuse for deception. Soval states that deception is no stranger to the High Command. V’Las dismisses Soval from service and orders him to return all confidential material. In addition, V’Las reminds Soval that his oath of loyalty is still in effect. When V’Las asks Soval if he has something he’d like to say, Soval responds that there is a great deal of things to said, but no-one is willing to listen.
Act One
On Vulcan, the mysterious people who have captured Archer and T’Pol in the T’Karath Sanctuary are revealed to be Syrrannites under the de facto command of T’Pau. Archer, who still believes that T’Pau bombed the Embassy, angrily confronts her over the death of his friend, Admiral Forrest and 42 others. T’Pau denies involvement in the bombing and chides Archer for crossing the Forge with false information. T’Les joins the group, but T’Pol is not too happy to see her. Afterward, as T’Pol and Archer explain they befriended the late Arev while crossing the desert, they are welcomed with sorrow. As T’Pau explains, Arev was in fact Syrran, their leader.
Locked in a room at the sanctuary, Archer slumps over, near a window. T’Pol goes to his side and asks if he is all right. Archer recalls that before Arev died, he put his hand on his forehead and now he feels something inside his head. Archer confides to T’Pol that since the incident, he has not felt like himself. Meanwhile, T’Pau confronts T’Pol’s mother over her decision to lead her daughter and Archer to their hiding place with a modified IDIC pendant. She explains that she only wanted to assure her daughter that she was fine. T’Pau regretfully remarks that if Syrran is indeed dead, all they have worked for is lost.
In the captain’s ready room, Commander Tucker expresses his disbelief on Soval’s expulsion from the High Command. Soval notes that he can file a protest but V’Las is not one to change his mind. Soval remarks that his lost position and future career plans are the last thing they should be concerned with now and asks the commander if they have been able to contact Archer or T’Pol. “We can’t reach them and they can’t reach us.” Soval reveals that V’Las is planning on bombarding the Syrrannite’s sanctuary in the Forge – which is where Archer and T’Pol were headed. Soval remarks that they are in grave danger.
After some time, T’Pol is brought to her mother. Their discussion goes nowhere as the daughter can’t understand her mother’s choice to join people she considers as extremists. Even after she hears T’Les’ explanation, the High Council’s propaganda still holds. T’Les explains she didn’t tell T’Pol because she wanted to protect her. When T’Les tries to apologize, T’Pol says she just wants her mother to come back with her. T’Les dismisses the idea. She goes on to explain that when she gave her daughter the map, she had hopes T’Pol would understand and maybe join her.
In his cell, Captain Archer has a vision. He sees explosions in the far distance. “The war is taking its toll. Vulcan is tearing itself apart“, an elderly appearing Vulcan man says. The man stands at a distance from Archer. “Who are you?“, Archer asks. “You know who I am, captain“. Archer quickly deduces that the Vulcan man is Surak himself, the father of Vulcan philosophy. Archer tells Surak that this does not feel like a dream. Surak tells Archer that he is viewing the past through his eyes. From what he tells Archer, Syrran transferred Surak’s katra to Archer’s mind before he died. Surak tells Archer that he must return his people to the right path and that, to use a Earth expression, they are stuck with each other now.
Just then, T’Pol snaps him out of it. He’s stunned, he sits down.
Act Two
V’Las informs the Council that the Syrrannite camp has been located. V’Las intends to order its eradication, which prompts objection from another council member, Kuvak. He proposes simply arresting them when they inevitably need to leave the camp. V’Las dismisses this through a goal of maintaining order most of all, which could be obtained by destroying them. V’Las ends the meeting with his decision, leaving Kuvak disturbed.
After the strange vision, Archer informs T’Pau and the group about what he saw. He says he thinks it was Surak, and the others believe him. They reveal that Syrann possessed the katra of Surak. He would certainly have tried to transfer the katra if he sensed he was about to die. T’Pau offers to mind meld with the captain to be sure, despite her misgivings about doing that with a Human. They proceed, and T’Pau sees the desert and the refuge that Archer took earlier, but then also senses Surak. She steps back, now sure.
Soval, now determined to prevent the tragedy, helps Tucker with a plan, starting with disrupting one of the satellites near the Forge. Tucker asks Soval why’s he’s helping them when he seemed so against Humans. Soval reminds him he lived on Earth for 30 years and did develop a fondness for Humans. Tucker says he did a good job hiding it, to which Soval thanks him. Meanwhile, Travis Mayweather rigs together a shuttlepod to get to the surface.
Back on the surface, in the Syrannites’ brig, T’Pol tells Archer about the katric arks that were discovered near P’Jem, allegedly used to preserve katras, and, upon study, it was concluded they did nothing of the sort. T’Pol says it’s more likely Archer has Syrran’s memories, transferred before he died. Archer feels like it’s more than that, that the monastery feels like home. T’Pol objects that Syrann spent a lot of time here. Archer says that wathever it is Syrann put in his head, he wants it taken out.
Later, Tucker gets a hail from V’Las, who informs him the investigation is complete and that they can go back to Earth. Tucker wants to stay, but V’Las is insistent, having even called Admiral Gardner. He wishes Enterprise “a pleasant journey” and hangs up on them. Tucker is not pleased.
T’Pau plans a dangerous ritual to transfer Surak’s katra from Archer. T’Les objects to her, since she’s never performed it before, and it may not be what Surak or Syrran would have wanted. T’Pau says Syrran didn’t choose Archer for the katra – he was dying and needed to save it, and T’Pol was nowhere near. T’Les asks her one last time to reconsider, as Archer could die, but she doesn’t, unwilling to follow Archer or sacrifice the katra.
Act Three
Back in the cell, T’Pol is still dwelling on her mother’s choice to join the Syrannites. Archer talks to her, noting T’Les is all right, and that he doesn’t think these people are responsible for the bombing anymore. Before they can continue, T’Pau enters the cell, announcing she’s decided to take the katra from Archer. Archer agrees, as he is eager to get Surak’s katra out of his mind, but T’Pol objects when they note the danger to him. T’Pau says they will use force, which prompts further objection from T’Pol, throwing a glare at T’Les.
In the meantime, Admiral Gardner has ordered Enterprise to leave Vulcan and come back home. Trip has no intention of complying with that order until the captain and T’Pol are back on board. Travis is done working on the shuttle, and Trip sends them down. V’Las finds that Enterprise is still in orbit, and Kuvak is further alarmed at V’Las’ behavior, as he is obviously monitoring their communications and using Gardner to get rid of witnesses to his plan. V’Las ignores it and deduces that Tucker has a plan, and goes to find out what it is.
Archer kneels down for T’Pau to perform the ritual. He goes back to the place with Surak, who is now suffering from radiation poisoning from the fallout of Vulcan’s war. Surak, interestingly, decides to stay with Archer, saying Syrann wasn’t able to help him, in fact, no Vulcan can. Archer, being Human, isn’t burdened by his people’s history. He falls, insisting that the captain must find the long lost Kir’Shara, so the Vulcan people can find a new path of enlightenment. T’Pau senses that Surak wants to stay inside Archer and, stunned, releases him.
Back on Enterprise, Soval disables the satellite, giving Mayweather six minutes to get to the surface. Malcolm Reed and Woods ride out the very bumpy ride. Soon, unfortunately, two Vulcan patrol craft fire on them. Reed is able to fire back, but the shuttle loses part of its wing and is forced to return to Enterprise. Soval surmises that they must have been monitored, and, sure enough, V’Las hails them and demands to know why they’re sending a shuttle. Tucker is then forced to admit Archer is on the surface. Soval admits he helped, by giving Tucker the code to the satellites. Tucker receives a direct order from V’Las to leave, or be fired upon.
Act Four
Archer is unconscious for three hours, under T’Pol’s care. T’Les comes to check on her, but she coldly says she wants nothing to do with her. Archer wakes, feeling like crap. He sees the entrance of a cave, and he thinks the Kir’Shara is in there. but T’Pau reports that three Vulcan cruiser were spotted over the forge, and begin to evacuate.
Meanwhile, the Vulcan ships fire some warning shots towards Enterprise. V’Las hails the crew, stating he’s running out of patience. On Vulcan, Kuvak objects that Vulcan and Earth have been allies for a hundred years, but V’Las doesn’t want to give the Syrrannites an opportunity to get out of the forge. He then gives orders to remove Enterprise out of orbit. Three Vulcan ships approach Enterprise and they begin firing.
In the monastery, T’Les leads the evacutaion, but Archer, T’Pau, and T’Pol remain behind to attempt to locate the Kir’Shara.
No match for the Vulcan ships, the Enterprise is heavily damaged and Tucker finally withdraws under Soval’s advice to retreat. As soon as the Humans are away, V’Las orders bombardment of the sanctuary.
In the Forge, Archer leads them down a corridor. He finds the mummified corpse of T’Klaas, one of Surak’s students. T’Pol expresses surprise at Archer’s identification of the master, as there is no inscription. Archer doesn’t respond. They continue on as the bombardment starts, and soon, Archer opens a door to the room where the Kir’Shara is kept. T’Pau is stunned to see it, as she almost believe it didn’t exist. A stronger blast prompts them to leave immediately. Archer leads them out of the sanctuary, which has been reduced to rubble. At the Vulcan council, V’Las is pleased to hear the destruction and orders troops to search and kill survivors. Kuvak notes V’Las is ordering a massacre, but V’Las insists they are eliminating a threat.
In the remains of the sanctuary, T’Pol finds her mother T’Les gravely injured and holds her in her arms. T’Les remained behind as she was afraid T’Pol was still inside. T’Les admits she came to the sanctuary to help T’Pol, as she has always struggled with her emotions. When T’Pol says she doesn’t understand, T’Les responds, “you will”. While Archer and T’Pau look on, T’Les dies just after she tells T’Pol she has always been so proud of her. T’Pol cradles her mother’s lifeless body in her arms and sheds a tear.
Commander Tucker is in command of the Enterprise, still moving away from Vulcan. Privately, Soval, who is still on board, informs Tucker in Archer’s ready room of another threat: that Vulcan is planning to attack Andoria, believing they are developing a weapon based on Xindi technologie. V’Las is advancing an agenda, and wanted the Syrrannites eliminated due to their pacifist views. Tucker knows what he must do, immediately leaving and ordering that Ensign Mayweather set a course to Andoria at maximum warp, to the surprise of the bridge crew.
TO BE CONTINUED…