Twilight

zealousgirl’s SPECIAL EDITION

Hi everybody! I’m back! So here is my belated ‘Special Edition’ – just so you know I have not read any of the comments on this episode yet, so this is my ‘unbiased’ (and jet-lagged) view of the episode.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

TWILIGHT
Production 060
First Air Date: Nov 5, 2003

Director: Robert Duncan McNeill
Written By: Michael Sussman

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Star Trek or Paramount. I do this for amusement and not for profit. Be forewarned that this will be seen through the biased eyes of a proud Tuckerite!!! (and, a Trip/T’poler!) I will try to focus on what is happening with Trip in these spoilers. Please check Li’s Trekpulse review for more details.

About ‘TWILIGHT': I again found this one to be only OK and it really didn’t keep my attention (of course I am quite tired and sleep-deprived right now). I’m sorry guys but I did not go into as much detail as I usually do with the Trip scenes (saving myself for tomorrow night) I hope this was the token Archer/T’pol episode for those shippers, but then we’ll be back to Trip/T’pol with ‘North Star’. Interesting concept although I had problems with the plausibility, but was very happy that it was AU in the end. Of course, Trip was adorable with the bit of grey hair, and very commanding as the captain. I did have to giggle at Malcolm’s whiskers.

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Synopsis (from StarTrek.com):

After Enterprise is assaulted by severe spatial distortions, Archer loses the ability to form new, long-term memories, causing him to wake up each morning unaware that any time has passed since the day he was afflicted. Despite the crew's best efforts to keep him involved in decisions, it becomes clear over time that they can't continue to function in this manner, leading T'Pol to become his caretaker and Trip to take command of the ship.
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“Trip-centric” Enterprise REVIEW

Archer, asleep in his quarters and shirtless, is awakened by the shaking of the ship, due to an attack of some kind. Rushing out of his room, he is stopped by a crewman who says that he has orders, from the captain, to keep him in his room. Archer is confused, but decides to punch to crewman out cold.

T’pol, in a Starfleet uniform, is sitting in the captain’s chair giving orders to Malcolm and the rest, while all are thrown around by the blasts from some unseen vessel. Archer storms the bridge, asking what’s going on. T’pol orders someone to take Archer back to his quarters.

Suddenly we see a giant sphere drop out of warp close to Earth. (this sphere is really cool with such intricate details that I can’t really describe it well). It fires a weapon which destroys Earth, while the bridge crew looks on in horror.

************************

Now, a grey-haired Archer wakes up in an unfamiliar room. He is obviously confused, especially at his appearance in the mirror. He steps out, into an adjoining room and finds a long-haired T’pol fixing breakfast. She is not surprised by his appearance and nonchalantly says that he probably is perplexed by his surroundings but that she will explain everything to him. She asks him to sit down for breakfast, calling him Jonathon. She tells him that today is a very important day.

She asks him what the last thing he remembers was. He says that he was in the command centre looking at long range scans, and then he and T’pol were in the corridor on the way to the bridge. She says that that was actually 12 years ago.

~flashback~

They are walking in the corridor discussing movie night; he jokes that he may make it mandatory for all senior officers to attend and that the movie will be ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ – bound to scare even her. Suddenly, an anomaly starts to cause problems and despite course alterations they are ‘attacked’ by one. T’pol gets stuck under a fallen bulkhead, and Archer tries to get her out of there. Another anomaly is approaching and T’pol tells him to get out of there but he refuses. Unfortunately, just after getting her leg free, he is struck by the anomaly and is flung backwards and left unconscious.

He wakes in the Sickbay. Phlox asks him how he feels. Archer says that it like a shuttlepod landed on his head. Phlox then asks him when was the last time he spoke to Cdr Tucker. Archer responds that it was that morning at the staff briefing. Regretfully, Phlox tells him that it was actually a few hours ago, there in Sickbay, and that Archer has been there for 3 days. We find out that the anomaly left behind some parasites which are now living in Archer’s hippocampus, and do not allow him to form new long-term memory. Phlox hasn’t figured out yet how to treat this but is going to try.

{T’pol voice-over – Phlox continued to search for a remedy for the next several weeks. She and Trip continued to update him regularly on the happenings of the ship}

Trip, T’pol and Archer are sitting around the Captain’s dining table, talking. Trip tells him about the Xindi signal they were following and how it was simply a garbage scow. Archer enthusiastically tells them about an idea he had on how to make the engines for fuel efficient. Trip looks at him with pity, as T’pol glances quickly at Trip. Archer figures out that he’s probably already had this same conversation. Trip tells him that the specs that he gave are working out great, looking very uncomfortable and excusing himself from the table.

Archer says that they should forego the daily briefing, as it seems useless. But T’pol discouraged this as his experience could be very helpful. She then tells him that in the corridor, when the anomaly hit, she had urged him to leave her behind. If he had done so, it would be she and not him that would having the memory difficulties – she thanks him for what he did. His response is to say that there is not much use in her thanking him as he would not be able to remember it in a few hours.

Later, T’pol receives a hail from Starfleet command

~end flashback~

T’pol tells him that he was relieved of duty and she was given a field commission. She was made captain.

They discuss the parasites. They exist in a state of interspatial flux and that none of his treatments had been effective.

He asks about the Xindi mission. She tells him that they found where the weapon was being constructed, but the Xindi knew they were coming so sent 2 vessels to intercept them.

~flashback~

Enterprise in under attack. Xindi-reptilians have boarded and are systematically killing everyone they come in contact with. For some reason, one of them finds their way to Archer’s quarters and they fight. Meanwhile, T’pol, Hoshi and Malcolm are on the bridge trying to overcome the Xindi. Back in Archer’s quarters, they continue to fight and Archer eventually kills the Xindi.

On the bridge, T’pol asks if the Xindi are still docked with Enterprise. Then she takes the helm and steers Enterprise towards the 2nd undocked vessel. She rams the side of Enterprise with the docked Xindi vessel into the 2nd vessel (lots of explosions!!!) and disables both ships. Enterprise flies off, and on the exterior looks unscathed. (???)

In the command centre, Phlox reports that 13 crew have died and many more are injured. T’pol asks Malcolm about the Xindi. He reports that they have taken 9 prisoners, but that the brig is only designed for 2 and he doesn’t know what to do with all of them.

Trip: “Blow them out the airlock.”

T’pol tells him to instead to put them in crew quarters under heavy guard. She then asks Trip how the repairs are going.

He, bitterly, tells her that they should have weapons with the next few hours but that warp drive is another question. Out here in space, it will take 6 months to complete the repairs and so for now all they have is warp 1.7. Malcolm says that they won’t get far at that speed.

T’pol tells them to resume the previous heading and dismisses them. Trip confronts her after the rest have stepped away.

Trip: “How can we keep going with one warp engine?”

T’pol: “There’s no other option.”

Trip: “What in the world were you thinking when you rammed that ship?”

T’pol (a bit of emotion in her voice): “I chose the logical course of action.”

Trip: “Since the captain got sick this mission’s taken one wrong turn after another.” And he goes to walk away.

T’pol: “If you think that I have acted inappropriately I suggest you contact Admiral Forrest”

~end flashback~

T’pol tells Archer, after a few questions, that Earth was destroyed but that the Xindi did not stop at that. They destroyed every human outpost that they could find. There are less than 6000 humans left in total. At that, Archer runs out in frustration.

*******************************

We find out more about how Archer came to be living on this planet. Several convoys of ships with the remaining humans found there way there. Also, Enterprise with most of its crew is currently in orbit patrolling the system.

~flashback~

Enterprise detects a vessel coming out of high warp – it’s Vulcan. Soval hails them and asks to speak to T’pol. He later boards Enterprise to speak with her face to face. Upon seeing her, he comments that her (Starfleet) uniform does not suit her.

T’pol: “I doubt you traveled all this way to criticize my attire.” (gotta love that Vulcan wit!)

He asks her to return to Vulcan, for her own safety. He tells her that the Xindi are still hunting for humans and that a recent convoy was destroyed by them. He warns her that even if there arrive at Ceti Alpha, they will likely meet an armada. He then goes on to say that it was a mistake to order her to leave Enterprise, since it forced her to make an impulsive decision. She refuses to leave the crew, but he says that it’s actually ‘him’ that she won’t leave. He offers to allow Archer to come to Vulcan with her, as they have excellent doctors who may help him.

They then argue about how the Vulcans held back the Earth warp program (which he supported) and that by not doing this they could have helped them. Soval feels that all their problems are because they left Earth before they were ready. He tells her that her emotional connection to Archer is clouding her judgement.

Later, T’pol visits Archer in his quarters. He’s upset by the fact that she was meeting with the Vulcans (he saw them arrive through his window). She tells him that they were there to replenish their supplies (a lie?).

Archer then offers to help Trip in engineering, as he’s not fit to command but would like to contribute. T’pol tells him that they have already tried that but it did not work as he was very uncomfortable with the experience.

{T’pol (voice-over) tells us that it took nearly a year to arrive to Ceti Alpha and only their convoy made it as the Xindi destroyed all other convoys}

Trip (looking at scans of the planet): “This planet is barely Minshara class. Maybe we should have picked one with a little more blue and green on it. I’d like to head down with a survey team and start scouting for colony sites.”

T’pol: “You’re needed on Enterprise. The civilian leaders are going to want to meet with you.”

Trip: “Me? You’re the one they deal with.”

T’pol: “I’m resigning my commission.”

Trip (perplexed): “You’re sure you want to do this?”

T’pol: “Captain Archer will be better off on the surface with the others. He’ll need a caretaker, someone he trusts. I can’t be at 2 places at the same time.”

Trip: “You’re making one hell of a sacrifice. Why?”

T’pol: “I have my reasons.”

~end flashback~

T’pol tells him that the civilian ships were disabled and used their components to construct this settlement. She then says that at this point (in this recurring conversation) he usually starts to question whether this is all part of some elaborate deception. He admits that he was considering that. She then tells him about an event in his past when he proposed to a past girlfriend who refused because she didn’t want to be a Starfleet widow – she explains that he told her that (ie to prove that she’ telling the truth). She then says that their relationship has evolved over the years, but does not elaborate on how much it has evolved.

Later, Phlox arrives and examines Archer. Archer asks why he’s come all the way from Denobula to check him. Phlox explains that despite his efforts on Enterprise and then on the settlement, he was unable to find a treatment therefore returned to Denobula to continue his work. The technology needed to treat him, with a subspace implosion, did not exist, but now he has developed the equipment needed. As the procedure requires a tremendous amount of energy, they will be using Enterprise’s warp reactor.

***********************

Archer is greeted by an older, grey haired Trip, captain for the last 9 years. A goateed Malcolm (a captain – of the Intrepid) and Hoshi are there too.

They go to the engineering dept to check out the equipment, and the plan is start treatment within the hour.

Later, T’pol finds Archer hiding out in his quarters and asks why he left the reception early. He had found it disturbing that in his mind, he only saw all those people just a few hours ago. They then have a ‘deep’ conversation where he thanks he for everything she has done for him. They are interrupted by Phlox, who is ready for them.

Meanwhile, Malcolm reports to Trip that they have picked up a strange signal, and Trip orders them to check it out.

Archer is now lying inside Phlox’s machine, with probes pointed at his head. He slowly increases the intensity of the treatments and is done. Archer gets up.

Meanwhile, they discover a vessel with one biosign. ‘Captain Charles Tucker’ hails the ship and offers his assistance. But they get no reply. The vessel flees and fires on Enterprise, but is no match and is captured and brought into Enterprise’s launchbay.

In Sickbay, Phlox confirms that the parasites that he targeted are now gone. T’pol says that even if this works she will be staying on the colony for a while longer. Phlox then asks her if she’s told Archer how she feels. She denies having any ‘feelings’ towards Archer, stating that she if merely repaying a debt she owes as he did save her life. Phlox tells her that she should not be ashamed by how she feels, and then sympathizes with her about how she has spent the last 12 years learning all about Archer and yet he knows very little about her – but all that may change should his treatments work.

T’pol, changing the topic, by commenting on a discrepancy in the scans of Archer’s brain.

Elsewhere, Trip and Malcolm are questioning the alien that they recovered for the vessel that fired on them. The alien is upset because he had to get rid of his cargo, as what he was carrying was illegal, since he thought Enterprise was a patrol. Malcolm doesn’t buy it, as he knows that his species (Vridians) tend to deal in information. Trip demands to know who hired him, was it the Xindi. Trip then threatens to take apart the Vridian ship piece by piece to find evidence to corroborate his story.

The Vridian then admits that he was paid to follow the Denobulan, not Enterprise. He does not know who or why.

Trip gets a bit rough with him, demanding to know what the Vridian told his client.

***

Trip rushes to Sickbay. Phlox is upset because his engineers won’t allow him to continue with Archer’s treatments. Trip admits that that was his doing as they have other problems at the moment. T’pol tells him that this could solve all the problems and save Earth. Trip says that ‘Earth’s gone’.

Phlox then shows him scans of the region of the hippocampus that he has already treated. There are no parasites. He then shows him a series of scans dating back to 12 years ago, where all show no parasite in that region. They speculate that neutralizing the parasite in the present will result in alterations in the past – history can be altered.

Trip refuses since the Xindi are on the way and they need all the energy they can to run the weapons. He rushes off to the bridge, when Hoshi informs him that many Xindi ship have just dropped out of warp.

*********************************************

Captain Tucker is on the bridge commanding his officers. They are in the heat of battle, firing on the Xindi and being fired upon by the Xindi. Trip is very intense here (again sorry for the lack of details but I’m just not up to typing every detail out tonight).

Archer escapes the Sickbay, as he wants to help out. T’pol follows him.

More battle scenes from the bridge, with Hoshi and Malcolm yelling out what’s happening. The Xindi are targeting the bridge, and blow it to smithereens!

Archer and T’pol climb up some Jefferies tubes to another deck. They find a console which shows that the bridge is gone. T’pol contacts Phlox and tells him to meet them in engineering.

Meanwhile, the ship is boarded and the Xindi are killing everyone.

Phlox, T’pol and Archer arrive in engineering to find that the equipment has been destroyed. Archer decides to great a subspace implosion by overloading the engine. Xindi, however, are closing in on them. Phlox is killed. Lots of phaser fire happening, and T’pol gets shot. It’s up to Archer now, who is finally able to overload the engine, despite being shot and fatally wounded. Enterprise explodes.

We then switch back to the original scene in Sickbay where Phlox asks Archer how he feels (‘like I’ve been hit over the head with a shuttlepod’). He is to stay overnight for observation, although he only has a concussion. T’pol is there and tells him that they have cleared the anomalies. She chastises him for not leaving her in the corridor when she told him to. He jokes that it’s good that he doesn’t take orders from here.

T’pol then gives him a PADD and tells him that he wanted to see it. It’s a copy of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ which the movie he wanted to see, but will miss as he will be in Sickbay. As she prepares to leave he asks her to bring him another pillow (which she does) and then to turn down the lights a little (which she does). He then tells her that she would make a wonderful nurse.

THE END

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