Captain's personal log. February 12th, 2152.
After a brief detour, we're back on course for Risa.
Everyone's looking forward to some much-needed shore leave.
I've got my eye on a place called Suraya Bay.
Villas built right into the cliffs.
Perfect spot to enjoy a few good books.
Might even do a little diving when l...
Computer, pause.
Archer.
We're picking up a distress call, captain.
It's coming from a vessel approximately 2 light years to port.
- Any idea who it is? - No, sir. Should we alter course?
Go ahead. I'll be right there.
Looks like your walk on the beach will have to wait.
- Plasma residue? - Your warp injectors were full of it.
I must be more diligent about routine maintenance.
Unless you enjoy being adrift in the middle of nowhere.
Well, I'm sorry to inconvenience you with something this trivial.
Be sure to thank Mr Tucker for his time.
He wanted me to thank you.
It isn't every day he gets to tinker with alien engines.
We also found a microfracture on your starboard hull.
- They're sealing it now. - Oh, your crew is very thorough.
We were glad to help.
Do you answer every distress call you pick up?
If we can.
The galaxy could use more people like you.
Tomorrow you'll join me in my home. Bring Commander Tucker.
I'll prepare a meal in your honour. It's the least I can do to show my gratitude.
That's very generous, but I promised my crew a trip to Risa.
That can wait one more day, can't it?
If I put them off much longer, I'm gonna have a mutiny on my hands.
There's going to be a Geskana match.
I doubt you've ever seen anything like it.
Geskana?
Yes. You might want to participate, assuming you enjoy competition.
I should warn you, captain, I am easily offended.
Send me the coordinates.
- I'll break the news to my crew. - Dress for warm weather.
If it's all the same to you, captain, I'll sit this one out.
It's not like you to pass up an away mission.
Well, I'm up to my ears in work. The impulse manifolds need to be purged,
the gravity plating on C Deck still isn't aligned.
Trip.
Desert, sir?
The heat, the dry air...
You know how it sucks the life out of me.
What about the two weeks we spent in Australia?
- We had a great time. - Survival training in the outback?
Drinking recycled sweat and eating snake meat?
- That's your idea of a great time? - It's not gonna be like that.
I get the feeling Zobral's a man who likes to indulge his guests.
He's promised to roll out the red carpet for us.
It'll be more fun than purging impulse manifolds.
Well, suit yourself. I'll see if Malcolm's interested.
But I was hoping you'd enjoy spending some time with your captain.
Promise I won't have to eat any snake meat?
It's hotter than hell out there. Forty-one degrees.
It's a dry heat.
Welcome.
Good to be here.
- You remember Commander Tucker? - Yes, of course, of course.
This is the man who repaired my ship.
A brilliant engineer.
- It was just a couple clogged injectors. - Oh, you're far too modest.
Well, I hope you're hungry. I've prepared quite a feast.
Are there many deserts on your world?
Quite a few.
But none as big as this one.
From orbit, you'd think the entire planet's nothing but sand.
Oh, well, we have a handful of lakes and small seas.
What about Earth?
Two-thirds water.
Extraordinary.
- More wine? - Please.
- What's that called again? - Yalasat.
It's made from a cactus that grows in the northern foothills.
- How is your roast teracaq? - It's very good.
When Trip and I did our survival training,
in the desert, we never ate this well.
I must have lost about 3 kilos during that last week.
The heat always takes away my appetite.
Doesn't seem to be bothering you now.
I guess I'm getting acclimated.
It must be difficult adjusting to new cultures.
It's challenging at times...
...but that's why we're out here.
- Did you ever think of turning back? - Only once.
We were attacked by a hostile species
with a lot more firepower than Enterprise.
I set a course back to Earth to upgrade our weapons.
But we ended up having to do the repairs ourselves.
They haven't bothered us since.
Sounds like you've had an eventful journey.
It's had its share of surprises.
Well, perhaps your visit here will be one of them.
Oh, you're going to enjoy this.
- Looks delicious. What is it? - Blood soup.
I don't usually eat this well,
but I promised your captain an exceptional meal.
What are these little chunks?
The essence of the male.
Chopped and seasoned.
- Beautiful tapestries. - Thank you.
Which one do you prefer?
- That one's interesting. - It's yours.
- No, no, no, no. I couldn't. - Please, consider it a gift.
You're far too generous. Besides, I wouldn't have any place to hang it.
Something smaller, then.
I know you would appreciate this.
A Suliban made it.
A Suliban I met several years ago.
Interesting people, don't you agree?
Thank you.
The Geskana match is about to begin.
I'm hoping you will honour us by participating.
Now?
I just ate a half a teracaq.
You will be glad you did. Geskana requires a great deal of strength.
Think you're ready?
- I'll give it a shot, captain. - I can't promise we'll win any trophies.
This is an ideal game for men like you.
Thanks.
- We're being hailed. - The captain?
No, it's coming from a city on the far side of the desert.
Put it through.
This is Enterprise.
Several hours ago, you launched a small vessel
to an encampment in the Cygniai Expanse.
Would you tell me why?
Our captain and chief engineer were invited.
- By whom? - A man named Zobral.
- And you are? - Chancellor Trellit.
Why are you in contact with this man?
His ship was damaged, and we assisted him.
- In return, he offered his hospitality. - Hospitality?
I hope you're aware that most likely you'll never see
your captain or engineer again.
- You all right? - Never better.
- Open. - Open up.
- Block out. - Here. Here.
Here, here.
Get in front of him.
Cut him off.
Now.
- So close. - That was a good shot.
Two centimetres to the right, and you'd have had it.
- Next time, I'll set up a no-look pass. - All right.
- Archer. - I need to speak to you, captain.
Can it wait? We're a little busy at the moment.
It's urgent. Are you alone?
Hold on a minute.
It's my science officer. She says it's important.
- Do you mind? - Take your time.
Catch your breath.
What's the problem?
I've been contacted by a government official in a city
about 200 kilometres from where you are now.
He claims that you are in danger.
What kind of danger?
According to him, Zobral and his men are terrorists.
They've been responsible for numerous attacks
on civilian targets within the city.
Maybe I'm wrong, but they don't seem like terrorists to me.
Perhaps not.
But until we're certain who they are, I suggest you return to the ship.
We're on our way.
I hope everything is all right.
The problem with being a starship captain is you're never really off duty.
I'm afraid we have to cut our visit short.
I'm sorry to hear that.
- What's going on? - Problem with the starboard engine.
T'Pol says she needs us up there right away.
Can't we at least finish this quarter?
Remember those impulse manifolds you said needed purging?
You were right.
Well, thanks for one hell of a game.
You must have other people that can correct this problem.
I wish we did.
As I said, captain, I am easily offended.
We'll come back if there's time. I promise.
You should not believe the Torothans.
I have just been informed that we picked up a lengthy transmission
between your vessel and Chancellor Trellit.
Whatever he told your science officer, it is not true.
I wanted this to wait till later, but I beg you,
let me explain the real reason why I asked you here.
You have a reputation for being fair, a man of great integrity.
When you hear what I have to say, I am certain you will want to help us.
It is called a yrott.
The word means "to stand apart."
When we lived in the cities,
we were forced to wear these whenever we walked in public.
I take it those days are over.
When the caste system was finally abolished,
we were led to believe that everyone would be treated equally.
I remember the celebrations.
Yrotts being burned in the streets.
People saying that we had finally been granted our rights.
The Torothan clan signed the accord,
but they never abided by it.
They still control the government, the lands, the resources, everything.
We spent ten years staging protests, appealing to the courts,
until finally we realized there was only one way to get their attention.
And we are going to keep attacking the Torothans until our voices are heard.
They call us terrorists,
but the truth is they have been terrorizing us for centuries.
You said you brought me down here for a reason.
I have a feeling it wasn't to hear a history lesson.
The Torothans have ten times as many soldiers as we do.
We won't last much longer without your help.
I really don't see what I can do for you.
They said you would be humble.
I scanned your vessel.
You have an arsenal of powerful weapons.
But more importantly, I need your wisdom.
Our current strategy isn't working,
but I am confident that together, we can find one that does.
I would be honoured to fight alongside you,
as would all of my men.
- What the hell was that? - Torothan cruisers.
Usually they begin their bombardment after dark.
They're getting started early today.
I don't know what you heard about me, but you've been misled.
- What about the Suliban? - What about them?
You liberated a detention camp, freed thousands of prisoners.
- Who told you that? - A Suliban transport captain.
He told me of an explorer who was also a great warrior.
A man who helped him defeat an entire army.
Captain Jonathan Archer.
Two cruisers, sir. They've hit one of our pulse cannons.
Prepare my ship.
This won't last more than a few hours.
We'll continue this discussion later. You'll be safe here.
If it's all the same, we'd rather get to Enterprise.
Oh, your shuttle's thrusters would draw their attention.
You'd become an easy target.
Please. I wouldn't be a very good host if I allowed you to get killed.
There's a number of ships strafing the encampment.
Hail the captain.
Archer.
Captain, are you all right?
We've taken shelter...
- Should be... - That's the best I can give you.
The entire region is flooded with jamming signals.
Well, we can't just leave them down there.
- What about the transporter? - I can't localize their bio-signs.
I'll take a shuttlepod and find them myself.
In the middle of an assault?
See if you can find Chancellor Trellit.
Archer to Enterprise.
Enterprise.
Respond.
Rough game.
That damn midfielder knocked me down
three times during the last quarter.
I must have bruised a half a dozen ribs.
Better have Dr Phlox take a look at it when we get back.
So does the great warrior have any ideas
about how we're getting out of here?
You're not thinking about helping these people?
I was thinking about those Suliban prisoners.
If we hadn't helped them escape,
we wouldn't be in this situation.
T'Pol's ears must be burning.
Want your chief engineer's advice?
- What is it? - Walk away.
They lured us down here under false pretences.
And now they're asking us to help them fight a war?
That's a lot different than breaking a few innocent people out of prison.
There's just one problem. Zobral.
I get the feeling he's not gonna take no for an answer.
Come on.
I don't know about you,
but I'd rather take my chances out in that desert.
- I thought you hated the desert. - Not tonight.
You neglected to mention that you'd be attacking the encampment.
And you assured me your people would be leaving the surface.
Why didn't they?
Captain Archer wanted to speak with Zobral.
- Interesting. Where are they now? - I don't know.
If you'd be willing to end your assault, we could launch a search party.
You expect us to stand by while you send more people to join Zobral?
If you believe we're assisting the terrorists, you're mistaken.
Of course, I forgot. They just went down for the hospitality.
Let us find them, and we'll leave immediately.
That's what you promised before.
We'll locate your men ourselves, and deal with them accordingly.
That's assuming they haven't already been killed.
Chancellor...
If you attempt to launch another shuttlecraft, we'll have no choice
but to consider it as an enemy vessel.
I've lost sensor contact with the surface.
Some kind of orbital-dispersion field.
I can't get any readings below 100 kilometres.
Two men out in the open.
You'd think they would've spotted us by now.
We're down here!
You're gonna have to yell a little louder than that.
You sure we're going in the right direction?
It was east of the camp.
We're heading east.
- How far? - About 30 kilometres.
Thirty?
What if we find more of Zobral's men inside?
It looked abandoned.
All I saw was sand.
I don't remember any buildings.
That's because you forgot your survival training.
Take a good look on your way in at your surroundings.
Didn't they also say something about only walking at night?
Can't we wait until it cools down a little?
That could be for another...
...eight or nine hours. We need to find shelter.
- Twenty minutes, captain. - Trip.
Ten?
To cherry-flavoured snow cones.
What I wouldn't give for one right about now.
- Do you hear that? - What?
Sounds like a ship.
- I think the heat's getting to you. - No.
Listen.
Over there.
- A shuttlepod? - No.
Something a lot bigger.
- You all right? - Yeah.
The dispersion field covers half the continent.
But if I disable these three satellites,
I think I can get a clear reading of the eastern desert.
That might provoke the Torothans.
I suggest you try to find a less intrusive way to penetrate their defences.
Why Montana?
Of all the places the Vulcans could have landed,
they chose Bozeman, Montana.
Humanity's first warp drive was developed there.
It seemed a logical place to begin.
Well, how did they know it wouldn't alarm other nations?
An alien species makes contact with the United States.
Could have made a lot of other countries nervous.
What's your point?
It seems to me that we're gonna run into similar problems.
We get invited to dinner,
and before you know it, we're accused of taking sides in a war.
Contacting new worlds always involves unexpected risks.
The High Command has very specific protocols regarding planetary conflicts.
Eventually, Captain Archer will have to create some directives of his own.
Come on. Come on.
We gotta keep moving. Come on.
My shift doesn't begin for another six hours.
We're almost there.
Where?
Where are we going?
Nice little place I know.
- Plenty of shade. - Are there blankets down there?
I'm freezing.
Heat exhaustion.
Come here.
Here. There you go. Easy. Easy.
Here, take mine.
- Go ahead. - No, sir.
- I won't take another man's water. - You drink it. That's an order.
Gotta keep moving.
Take the water, or I'll knock you on your ass,
and pour it down your throat.
Easy.
Thanks.
There's a vessel approaching from the surface.
It's Zobral.
He's hailing us.
- Open your launch doors. Quickly. - Is the captain with you?
- Commander Tucker? - No, no. I'll explain once I'm aboard.
Where are they?
If I'm not in your docking bay in the next 30 seconds, I'll be detected.
They'll destroy my ship.
Bring him in.
- How many? - There were 89.
There were only 89 Suliban, not thousands.
- And the army you defeated? - I'd hardly call it an army.
It was more like a few dozen prison guards. And to be honest,
they didn't put up much of a fight.
Jonathan Archer is an excellent starship captain,
but he's hardly the invincible warrior described to you.
What about his legendary desert tactics?
Actually, I'm the tactical officer on this ship,
and I don't have any experience at waging desert warfare.
I'm afraid you've come to the wrong people for help.
All this for nothing.
What about our people?
Well, you have far better sensors than we do. I'm sure you'll find them.
Our sensors are being disrupted,
and the Torothans have threatened to fire on us if we launch a shuttlepod.
How did you get here without them seeing you?
There is a narrow gap in their orbital detection grid.
It occurs once every 46 minutes, but it is only open for less than one minute.
- I'll need all the pertinent data. - You'll need more than that.
The manoeuvres are extremely difficult. It took us years to learn them.
I'm a quick study.
You will be shot down before you reach the atmosphere.
With you at the helm, our chances would improve.
I don't have time. My men are waiting for me.
Then they'll have to wait a little longer.
You're the one that got our people stranded down there.
They are not my responsibility!
You're mistaken.
The Torothans believe we've joined your cause.
If Captain Archer and Commander Tucker are apprehended,
they'll undoubtedly be treated as members of your clan.
They'll become victims of the same oppression
you've been fighting all these years.
You should feel as responsible for those two men as you do for your own.
Easy.
Home sweet home.
I hope you're not planning to hog that all for yourself.
Water's off the menu.
Now this...
...is my idea of a great time.
What'd you do?
Rub two sticks together?
I found a new use for the stun setting.
It may not taste too good,
but I think I boiled away anything that can hurt us.
No, thanks.
I'm not thirsty.
Let's not get into that argument again.
- Worse than blood soup. - You need water.
What I need...
...is sleep.
You got a fever, Trip. Your heart's racing.
You got all the symptoms of heatstroke.
If you fall asleep, you could lapse into a coma.
A coma?
That sounds nice.
When we get back to Enterprise, you can sleep all you want.
But right now,
you gotta stay with me, and drink this water.
If I had a needle, I'd give it to you intravenously, but I don't.
Come on, sit up.
Here you go.
Good.
Commander.
Aye, captain.
The warp reactor.
Break it down for me.
What?
What are the eight major components?
You gotta be kidding me.
Name them.
That's an order.
Well...
...there's the drumsticks.
Thighs.
Wings.
- You got anything to eat around here? - Not at the moment.
But when we get back to Enterprise,
I'll have chef make you a dinner you'll never forget.
What would you like? Anything.
- Not snake meat. - No.
Chef doesn't do snake very well.
Tell me what you want.
- Prime rib. - Okay. What else?
Mashed potatoes.
With mushroom gravy.
The kind he makes on Wednesday nights.
No problem.
What kind of vegetables?
Hey. Vegetables.
Broccoli.
Dessert?
Pecan pie.
Take another pass over the eastern basin.
Our sensors would have detected them.
No, there's magnetic deposits below that basin.
They could be masking their bio-signs.
If we increased our altitude, this would go a lot faster.
We would also risk being detected.
Geography.
Do you know how to play?
- Geography? - You know.
You say "Amazon River" which ends in an R,
and then I say "Rhode Island."
We're going to Rhode Island?
No. No, it's a game.
You're supposed to tell me some place that starts with a D.
D.
Draylax.
X?
X.
- There's always... - No, no. Don't tell me. I know an X.
Xanadu.
That's not a real place.
- It doesn't matter. - Of course it matters.
You just used an alien planet, Draylax.
Easy. Easy. Easy.
Easy. Easy.
All right. Whatever you say. Xanadu's fine.
Get your head down.
- What? - Get down.
We gotta get out of here. Come on.
I'm picking up weapons fire on the surface.
- Ninety kilometres due south. - A Torothan mortar.
Would they be targeting one of your settlements?
We don't have any near there.
Set a course, and prepare to fire.
I believe they've located the captain and Commander Tucker.
Come on.
Come on.
I've got a lock.
Fire.
I see them.
Two humans. Bearing 115 mark three.
I'm just slowing you down. Go.
I don't remember taking orders from you.
My launch window opens in nine minutes. I should be going.
I hope Commander Tucker is going to be all right.
I doubt I'll ever convince him to set foot on another desert,
but he'll be fine.
Zobral, even if I were the warrior you thought I was,
that's not why we're out here.
Captain.
Sub-commander.
What you told him was correct.
Decisions to get involved in conflicts of other worlds
should be left to governments, not starship captains.
I know.
The irony is I have the feeling his cause is worth fighting for.

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