Episode Report Card Keckler: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Quantum Leap of Faith of the Heart
By Keckler | Season 1 | Episode 26 | Aired on 05.21.2002
Quantum squares his shoulders and dons The Furrowed Brow Of Meeting Doom Head-On as Silik comes on the screen. "I wouldn't advise using your weapons, Captain. Perhaps if we decloak, you'll understand why," Silik oozes. All the hex-pods decloak. But they could see them with the beacons anyway, right? Quantum turns to Reed, who tells him that the pods are "armed with high-yield particle weapons," and that he couldn't take enough out for it to make a difference before the hex-pods opened fire on them. Quantum signals for Hoshi to turn Silik back on the screen; Silik tells him that he has five minutes to get to his own docking bay and board a pod Silik is sending for him. "If you don't comply," Silik tells him, "I have permission to destroy Enterprise." Quantum asks how he's to know that Silik won't destroy his ship regardless. Silik tells him that he has his word, and only four and a half minutes left. Silik hangs up.
Quantum paces around the bridge as Maywonderbra looks pissily in Trip and Reed's direction. Quantum tells T'Pol that he's placing her in command. T'Pol rises from her position as Quantum gives her her instructions: "I advise you to maintain your present course and speed. I don't know what's going to happen, but try to keep an open mind. Especially when it comes to things the Vulcan Science Directorate says are impossible." T'Pol tells him, with just a touch too much emotion in her voice and face, "I'll try." Trip starts to tell him that this is crazy-talk, but Quantum interrupts him to say that T'Pol's in command and he'd better not go disrespecting her. "That goes for all of you," Quantum says, looking around. He pauses at the turbolift door to say, "Keep an eye on Porthos for me, wouldja?" and to Hoshi, "Remember: no cheese." "When he says, 'No cheese,' is he speaking to the writers, or is he still talking about Porthos?" Mathra wants to know, although he really needs be working on other things. With profound "last words" such as those that Quantum delivers to his crew, it's no wonder Picard, Kirk, Sisko, and Janeway never brought up their predecessor -- he's an embarrassment. Besides, I would hazard that it's Quantum that had a problem with restraint when it came to feeding the pup cheese. Quantum steps into the turbolift without a backward glance at the bridge. He furrows in the turbolift for a bit before the doors open to reveal a mess of twisted metal and other junk.
Bridge. Silik comms in to say, "Your Captain's playing a very dangerous game, Sub-Commander." "Game?" T'Pol repeats. Silik tells her, "He has thirty seconds left. Did he think I wasn't serious?" T'Pol signals Hoshi to turn off the transmission, and Trip reports that the turbolift is on E-Deck, empty. T'Pol asks where he is, and Trip tells her he's not reading his bio-signs, so he must be on the Suliban ship. At T'Pol's nod, Hoshi gets Silik back on the screen, and T'Pol tells him that Quantum is not on Enterprise, so he must be with the Suliban. "I thought he was smarter than this," Silik says. "He could have saved all of your lives. What a waste." Silik hangs up, and Maywonderbra reports that the docked hex-pod is moving away. Reed reports that it's targeting their warp core. "They're all targeting the warp core," Reed says. General looks of concern all around the bridge.