NARRATOR: Previously on Enterprise:
I've located Ensign Sato. She's on board one of the Reptilian vessels.
[SCREAMING]
The third launch code.
We have complete access.
The Guardians will not let us fail.
The power readings from the weapon are increasing.
They're preparing to launch.
Open a vortex. Set a course for Earth.
The captain wants to take a team aboard to destroy it.
I need three volunteers.
She's undergone a severe neural trauma.
She's been inside the weapon. I have to know what she saw.
Have her taken aboard Degra's ship right away.
The Aquatics joined us only because you promised to neutralize the Spheres.
We have a plan to disable Sphere 41.
If we're right, it should disrupt the entire network.
Reptilians will preside over a stronger, unified Xindi empire,
if humankind is eradicated.
If they had made us the dominant species before the wars,
our homeworld would still exist.
And our Avian brothers would still fill the skies.
We should be grateful that the Guardians have finally come to their senses.
Once Earth is destroyed,
the Reptilians will take their rightful place at the head of a new Xindi empire.
They're nearly three hours ahead of us, but this vessel is faster.
We're closing the gap.
It may be faster, but it's not well armed. How many ships are escorting the weapon?
I can't tell.
The only way we're going to be able to destroy this thing is from the inside.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Any luck?
All of Degra's schematics are encrypted.
- We're gonna need Hoshi to help us. - She's in no condition to come up here.
- I wish I had a choice, Malcolm. - Sir, she's barely conscious.
Can you transfer that to a PADD?
Something portable?
The favorable timelines continue to diminish.
They should be increasing.
The weapon has almost reached its target.
But the Earth ship is on course for a Primary Sphere.
Accelerate the transformation around that Sphere.
They mustn't be allowed to intervene.
- Report. - We've realigned the main power grid.
It should increase the deflector pulse threefold, maybe four.
But it's gonna fry just about every system on board.
Be prepared to initiate the pulse within two hours.
I don't think you heard what I just said.
We try this, and the ship's gonna come apart at the seams.
Two hours, Mr. Tucker.
The captain told the Xindi we'd try to knock these things out.
He didn't say anything about demolishing Enterprise in the process.
Has it occurred to you what's going to happen if Captain Archer fails?
- If Earth is destroyed? - Every day.
Good. Then you've already come to the conclusion that without humanity,
there's no one to combat these Sphere-Builders.
Their Expanse will continue to grow, encompassing one system after another,
including Vulcan.
Your world is no longer the only one in jeopardy.
Two hours.
[SIGHS]
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
- I think we've got a problem. - What is it?
Sphere 41.
Are you certain these are the coordinates?
Yep.
There shouldn't be anything on sensors, not with the cloaking barrier,
but there it is, and it's getting bigger.
Have you analyzed it?
Could be spatial anomalies,
but they're clustered much tighter than we've ever seen them.
PHLOX: They're transforming the space surrounding that Sphere,
not unlike the disturbance where we found the transdimensional being.
They're obviously expecting us.
If we're going to disable the network,
we'll need to get within a kilometer of the surface.
If the ship were to enter that disturbance,
the entire crew would be dead within minutes.
I could synthesize a neuroleptic compound
that would keep us conscious for approximately 12 minutes.
I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to prevent epidermal decay.
Twelve minutes won't be enough.
Perhaps I can extend it, but not by much.
I encourage you and Mr. Tucker to consider alternatives.
There must be something you can do to abbreviate your plan.
Any luck?
Ensign?
I'm not feeling very well.
Do you think you can get Phlox to come down here?
We're on Degra's ship, Hoshi. Phlox isn't here.
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing.
The schematics for the weapon,
Degra encrypted them before he was killed.
You've been trying to decipher them.
I gave them the third code.
They wouldn't have been able to arm the weapon
if I hadn't given them the third code.
You were drugged, Hoshi, you had no choice.
I did. I should have fought harder.
You need to finish what you're doing.
You're almost there.
We're gonna board the weapon, try to overload the power systems.
But we can't do that until we can read these schematics.
- I tried to jump, but I wasn't fast enough. - You need to finish this.
You've got the three codes, so why don't you just kill me?
Didn't you say you were gonna kill me?
You've gotta pull yourself together,
just for a little while longer.
You need to complete the decryption.
Everything hinges on it.
Do you understand?
I understand.
When we exit the vortex, how close will we be?
Approximately 2 million kilometers from Earth.
Two million?
If we had all five codes, we could begin the firing sequence immediately,
but with three, we'll need additional time.
We'd be vulnerable if we dropped into normal space any closer to the target.
Do whatever it takes to fire the weapon as quickly as possible.
You wanted to see me, sir?
I think I found a way to boost the deflector pulse without tearing the ship apart,
but it's gonna mean transferring all impulse power to the array.
- When? - As soon as we reach the Sphere.
- Sir... - Sorry, Travis.
You're gonna have to get us to the manifold on thrusters only.
That's tying my hands, commander, especially with a ticking clock.
You can do it.
Look over these schematics.
Familiarize yourself with the surface features of the Sphere.
We won't be able to transport directly onto the control platform.
It's too heavily shielded.
We'll have to beam in and out no deeper than this peripheral framework.
What if you need to board the weapon
before your crewman completes her decryptions?
I'm taking her with me.
- Sir, she's hardly in any shape-- - She's been there, Malcolm.
That's where she deciphered the third launch code.
She was drugged. There's no reason to believe she'll remember anything at all.
ARCHER: She's coming with me.
I want you and your team to beam in right before we do.
Secure the closest route to the platform.
If you succeed in creating the overload,
what makes you think you'll be able to get out in time?
I'll give everyone a chance to get to the outer framework.
You'll be in charge of helping Hoshi.
And you, sir?
I have no plans of dying on that weapon, Malcolm.
I'm gonna see what else she's come up with.
DANIELS: This is a very important day, Jonathan.
- I don't have time for this. - It'll only take a minute.
You see the fellow in the blue jacket, near the left end of the dais?
That's you, a little more than seven years from now.
You and the others are about to make history.
Do you remember I told you about a Federation?
What about it?
I work with some people who are going to be pretty angry at me for telling you this,
but you're going to be an integral part of forming that Federation.
You're down there, right now, with Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites,
getting ready to sign the Charter.
The membership is going to grow. Dozens, eventually hundreds of species.
A United Federation of Planets.
I have a team preparing to board the weapon.
I've got other things to think about right now.
Let Reed or one of the others go to the control platform.
- What are you talking about? - It's too great a risk.
If you're killed, none of this will happen,
at least, not the way it's supposed to happen.
Then it'll happen some other way.
Who's to say whether it'll be better or worse?
It's essential you be a part of this.
Where are we? What planet?
- Earth. - Seems to me it's just as essential
that Earth be around for this too.
Lieutenant Reed can work with Sato.
[APPLAUSE]
They are not crucial to the future of mankind.
You are.
My mission is to save Earth,
not your Federation.
You can't ignore your place in history.
My place is on that control platform.
Now, get me the hell back to Degra's ship.
And if it's not too much of an inconvenience,
I'd appreciate it if you'd contact my first-wife's third husband, heh,
Groznik.
Uh, tell him that he's welcome to keep the Aldebaran drum set I loaned him.
Oh, they have a child named Indaura.
A sweet little girl. She must be, oh, 8 or 9 by now.
Well, I would like to leave her my botanical library.
She always had a flair for plants. Computer, pause recording.
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
Everything's ready here. Ahem.
Commander Tucker's completed his modifications to the deflector.
I apologize if I interrupted you.
Oh, no, no, don't be silly. Heh.
I was simply dictating a letter to my colleague, Dr. Lucas.
He offered to make sure my affairs were in order in the event that, uh...
Well, you know. Mm-hm.
I've always found it distracting to think of death,
especially when entering a dangerous situation.
Mm. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
I don't know about Vulcans, but Denobulans take great pleasure
in bequeathing their belongings to far-flung relatives.
We're not dead yet.
MAYWEATHER [OVER INTERCOM]: Bridge to T'Pol.
- Go ahead. - We're approaching the coordinates.
Take us out of warp.
Hope for the best, doctor.
[WHIRS]
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
MAYWEATHER: It's grown.
It's 100,000 kilometers deeper than when we first detected it.
I've enhanced the neuroleptic compound as much as I can.
I strongly advise we remain in the disturbance no longer than 15 minutes.
Are you ready to release the compound?
Then proceed.
Stand by to charge the deflector.
Set a course, ensign.
ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.
We've begun to formulate a plan, thanks to Hoshi,
who's made some progress in decrypting the schematics.
What have you guys figured out?
We've gotta disable the reactor
at a specific point during the inversion sequence,
but we don't know the sequence.
If it's not done in the right order, the internal safeguards will kick in
and it'll be impossible to create an overload.
I found the sequence, but decrypting it's another story.
Your friend Degra didn't make this easy.
I wish I could tell you to take your time.
The first time you came to visit me in Brazil--
It didn't stop raining for a week.
I had a bug then too.
A tropical bacteria, not a Reptilian parasite.
I was sick as a dog, but I wanted to make a good impression.
When we get back home,
I'll see to it you get some R&R in Norway, or Canada.
Some place where there's not a tropical bug in sight.
- Or reptiles. - Or reptiles.
Keep at it.
I'll get these to the Bridge.
[DOOR OPENS]
We've gotten close enough to isolate their signatures.
The Insectoids' ship is no longer with them.
- Why would they leave the vortex? - We have no idea.
All we know is that the weapon is being escorted by a single Reptilian vessel.
Dolim's.
At least we'll only have one ship to contend with.
Here we go.
- Doctor. - Fifteen minutes and counting.
Any sign of the Sphere?
It's too soon.
Hold your course.
Degra's vessel is less than 20 minutes behind us.
Lieutenant, we're about to drop into normal space.
[OVER INTERCOM] Stand by to initiate the firing sequence.
We're ready.
Are you detecting any Earth vessels near the coordinates?
No vessels. But there is one small orbital station.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Unarmed.
Let me see Earth.
Enlarge.
It's a shame, all that water.
The Aquatics would feel at home here.
I've got it.
- How far? - Twenty-thousand kilometers.
PHLOX: Thirteen minutes left.
As soon as we make visual contact, go to thrusters.
Set a heading to latitude, 15 degrees north.
- Deflector? - Standing by.
They're 800,000 kilometers ahead.
- Get your team ready to go. - REED: Aye, sir.
Dolim's changing course.
They're heading for a space station.
Are we in visual range?
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
Yosemite 3.
- JANNAR: A military installation? - A research post.
Usually 30 to 40 civilians aboard.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Hail them on this frequency.
The weapon's emitting disruption waves.
I can't get anything through.
Fifteen degrees north.
Drop to 2,000 meters.
Track starboard, 82 mark 0.
Aye.
Doc, there's something weird happening to my skin.
Me too.
It was expected. Try not to scratch it. Eleven minutes remaining.
The Guardians said that once Earth is gone,
we're to destroy all human colonies.
I see no reason not to begin with this station.
Target. Fire when ready.
They're heading back toward the weapon.
Ten degrees port, slow to 30 kph.
I'm transferring the target point to the deflector array.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Got it.
Begin.
Fish in a barrel.
Less than ten minutes to go.
[CHATTERING]
What the hell's going on? Power just fell 10 percent.
I'm picking up explosions on E-Deck.
Bridge to Engineering. Report.
I'm losing the beam.
There are nine alien life signs aboard.
They appear to be transdimensional beings.
How's that possible?
This disturbance we're in, it's obviously been altered enough to sustain them.
COMMANDER: Who's on Degra's ship?
Eight primates, three Arboreals and seven humans.
- Have their weapons been upgraded? - No, sir.
Pathetic.
Prepare to intercept.
They're arming their torpedoes.
REED: Sir.
- How's Hoshi doing? - She's holding up.
She and the MACOs are at the transporter device.
Remember, no heroics.
Just get us in and then keep them off your ass.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
There's another vessel approaching at high warp.
They're asking for you.
You're not using your head, pinkskin.
That ship you're on is no match for the Reptilian.
I'm busy, Shran. What are you doing here?
You should be impressed we managed to track you through the vortex.
I anticipated that you'd need some help.
KELLY [OVER INTERCOM]: Corporal Kelly to the Bridge.
Go ahead.
Our weapons are passing right through them.
You gotta stop this. If I don't get full power back,
this is gonna take three, four minutes longer than we thought.
We can't afford three or four minutes. Corporal Kelly, listen to me very closely.
Modulate your weapons to a rotating frequency of 32.6 teracycles.
- T'POL: Doctor? - Our transdimensional friend,
the one we found in the pod,
I had quite a few hours to study his physiology.
Let's hope my memory serves me well.
I'll be right in front of you, gentlemen.
[OVER INTERCOM] Keep a low profile.
We're matching speed.
You said there were no human vessels in the vicinity.
They're not human.
Destroy them both.
That third torpedo almost got you. Be careful.
Prepare to come about to port.
Stay below me.
We'll need to get within a kilometer of the weapon.
Just stay below me.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Let's fight back this time, shall we?
Bring the forward cannons online.
Go!
And tell Archer we're not even anymore. He owes me.
It's coming back.
Tell them to keep doing what they're doing.
WALKER [OVER INTERCOM]: Walker to the Bridge.
Go ahead.
We've secured Engineering, but I don't think we've seen the last of them.
It's time for you to work your magic, Mr. Tucker.
Within five minutes, everyone on this ship is going to start dying.
No pressure.
Okay, bring up the inversion sequence.
Start with the third one from the left.
- Got it. - The second from the right.
[GRUNTS]
Hoshi?
I'm all right.
The first one on the left is next.
Commander, sensors show the humans are no longer aboard Degra's vessel.
These ships are drawing us away from the weapon.
Get us back.
What's going on?
Ignore it, commander, you've got less than two minutes.
Got it. Two to go.
[SCREAMING]
Hoshi?
- Reed to Archer. - ARCHER: Go ahead.
I'm pretty certain that was the last of them.
Good work. Now, get back here.
T'Pol.
- T'Pol. - All right.
Take us to full impulse. Get us out of here.
- Wait a minute, I'm almost there. - You don't have a minute.
Then give me ten seconds. I'm telling you, I've got it.
That's it. Time's up.
It sure is.
Now, Mr. Mayweather.
The network is being destroyed.
Looks like we're getting out of this soup faster than we thought.
Without the Sphere, their transformed space must be collapsing in on itself.
Which one, Hoshi?
Number four, the fourth one from the left.
- REED: Are you sure? - HOSHI: Yes. Yes.
Number five is the last one after you disable the reactor.
If we knock the reactor out, won't that be enough?
We didn't come here to disable this weapon.
We're here to destroy it. Give me the charges.
I'll take care of it, sir.
I want the four of you to get to the outer framework.
Beam back to Degra's ship.
- As chief tactical officer, sir-- - This isn't open for debate, lieutenant.
Don't worry, I'll be right behind you.
[DEVICE BEEPING]
[ALARM BLARING]
What have you done?
[EXPLOSIONS]
[GROANS]
[EXPLOSION]
One Reptilian transported to the weapon.
Let's make sure he has nowhere to go back to.
They have no shielding on their starboard engines.
Target all weapons.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
- Can you get a lock on him? - Not yet.
Your captain is too deep within the weapon.
[EXPLOSIONS]
[GROANING]
[GROANS]
[BEEPING]
T'POL: Acting-captain's starlog, February 14th, 2152.
We're holding position at the coordinates
where we were told to meet Degra's vessel.
So far, there's been no word from them.
Long-range sensors are detecting no evidence of the Spheres.
- TRIP: None of them? - None.
And all the spatial anomalies within our scanning range have vanished.
What about the thermobaric cloud barrier?
T'POL: I can only detect a small section from our present location,
but it appears to be dissipating.
Looks like we kept our end of the bargain.
It would appear that the Expanse is returning to normal space.
We should have heard something by now.
What if they failed? Earth could be...
Be patient.
[SIGHS]
My skin's healing faster than yours.
I guess you Vulcans aren't so tough after all.
Dr. Phlox says we should all be back to normal within two to three days.
I'm only kidding.
You look nice like this.
Kind of like an old oil painting.
I'm not old.
I will only be 66 years old on my next birthday.
I can't believe you told me that.
- You accused me of looking old. - That's not what I mean.
I've been trying to get you to tell me your age since we left space dock.
Why now?
To Vulcans, certain information is considered intimate.
Intimate? Hm.
MAYWEATHER [OVER INTERCOM]: Bridge to T'Pol.
Go ahead.
A vortex just opened. It's Degra's ship.
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
This is Enterprise. Please repeat.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES]
Captain, did you stop the weapon?
Captain?
[STATIC CRACKLING]
Set an intercept course.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
It's done.
- Done? - Captain Archer destroyed the weapon.
Where is he? Is he okay?
Captain didn't make it, Trip.
What do you mean, he didn't make it?
The weapon exploded
before he could transport to Degra's ship.
[DOOR CHIMES]
Come in.
Thank you.
The Aquatic vessel should have you home in less than a day.
I was pleased to hear that the Council has agreed to reconvene.
It was difficult for the Insectoids to ignore recent events.
And the Reptilians?
They'll join us eventually.
They have no choice but to accept that the Guardians' promises were empty.
Your captain's sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Safe journey.
Thank you.
It's all right.
It's all right. It won't be much longer, I promise.
[CREATURES CHITTERING AND CHIRPING]
Is something wrong?
Oh, I think they sense that we are traveling in an unusual manner.
In the belly of the beast, heh, so to speak.
There are no windows here.
How would they know we're inside the Aquatic vessel?
I don't have the slightest idea.
But I doubt I'll get much peace and quiet around here
until we're flying under our own power. Heh, heh.
It'll only be a few more hours.
Mm.
Is there something I can do for you?
My skin hasn't fully healed yet.
Oh, you're doing fine.
Vulcans are obviously more sensitive to the effects of mysterious realms.
I guess we're not so tough after all.
Excuse me?
Is there anything I'll need to treat this?
Only time.
How's morale?
It isn't easy for a crew to lose its captain.
I suppose we'll all need time to heal.
Will he be all right?
Not for a while.
He lost his best friend.
But it's just a matter of time. He'll be fine again.
Did you hear that?
The doctor says you'll be fine.
It's just a matter of time.
T'POL: Distance?
Eight-hundred thousand kilometers.
Set a course, ensign.
You should be in your quarters.
With all due respect to Phlox, I wouldn't miss this for the world.
Mind if we take a look?
Prettiest sight I ever saw.
It's all in one piece.
The captain would be proud.
Open a channel to Starfleet Headquarters.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Strange.
TRIP: What?
They're not responding.
You'd think they'd be waiting with baited breath.
Try another frequency.
I'm not picking up the orbital platforms.
The Reptilians destroyed Yosemite station.
MAYWEATHER: It's not just Yosemite.
There's nothing coming from any of them.
I've rotated through all the frequencies.
Contact the Lunar One Colony.
HOSHI: I already tried.
Prepare a shuttlepod. I want you and Ensign Mayweather
to get down to San Francisco. Find out what's wrong.
[BEEPING]
Looks pretty normal to me.
Then why the hell doesn't anyone wanna talk to us?
[TRIP SIGHS]
Land at the pad behind the Command Center.
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Finally. We've got three vessels approaching.
It's about time.
This is Commander Charles Tucker of the starship Enterprise.
You guys gave us quite a--
[GUNFIRE]
What the hell?
Sir...
[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]
[RAINDROPS PATTERING]
[ALL CLAMORING IN GERMAN]
[PATIENTS GROANING]
[WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY]
[IN GERMAN]