Episode Report Card Keckler: D+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Manura Penthe
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 19 | Aired on 04.08.2003
Tribunal. Whitey protests vociferously about the unfairness of the sentence, and goes off on a tangent about the ills of the Klingon justice system. For his trouble, Whitey is also given a one-way ticket to the lethal and deadly beaches of Rura Penthe. Didn't see that coming. Not at all in a million kablillion years.
Enterprise. Having received word of Quantum's sentence, T'Pol tells the Qrew that the Vulcan High Council will continue to do all they can to get Quantum released. "So, whadda we dew?" Trip asks. Oh, my god -- I just remembered that I had a dream about Trip the other night! It was weird. He had goosebumps on his arms -- don't ask how I knew -- and that's all I remember. I swear Bermaga are programming my REM patterns. T'Pol announces that Klingons want them to get their ship the hell out of their system, but Reed and Trip fuss over leaving Quantum behind. T'Pol reminds them that it was Quantum's wish -- nay, order -- that they get the ship to safety, whatever the outcome of his trial. Trip still has problems with the chain of command, until T'Pol hints that there might be a way to "persuade" certain Klingon bureaucrats of her past acquaintance. Trip seems to like the sound of that, and T'Pol orders May-I-Get-My-Own-Episode-Next-Week-So-You-Better-Stop-With-The-Nicknames to take them out of orbit. What's that I smell? Oh, right -- it seems to be the distinct LACK OF TENSION!
Yukon Territory. That is, if the Yukon were a big salt lick in the winter time. Dressed in fur that would make Stella McCartney dry-heave, Quantum and Whitey slug their pickaxes at the icy (and sodi-yummy) dilithium walls of Rura Penthe. See? He's not hiding out in London! Whitey seems to be struggling without his inhaler, and a ten-o'clock-shadowed Quantum checks on him. Whitey ruefully admits to spending too much time in the law library and not enough time on the battlefields. "Not all Klingons are warriors -- remember?" Quantum says, harking back to their earlier talk over that flask of Blood Wine. A Rura Penthe guard comes and abuses Whitey with words, a pain stick, and his foot. Quantum tries to get the guard to back off, but when verbal diplomacy fails, Quantum launches a full-frontal assault. He even manages to grab the pain stick and give the guard a taste of his own medicine, minus the spoonful of sugar. Another guard joins the fray and zaps Quantum into submission. Several times. "Any trouble from you and you'll spend the night on the surface!" the guard growls. And without the benefit of a yellow-eyed, chain-smoking supermodel to keep you warm. Whitey berates Quantum for sticking his neck out. "We have a saying on Earth [if it involves gazelles, I'm buying a pain stick and sticking it in my eye]: 'You don't kick a man when he's down,'" Quantum groans. "We have a saying on Kronos --" Mathra starts. "You do kick a man when he's down," I finish. Whitey wants to know if all humans are as stupid as Quantum. Quantum chuckles. If he finds that funny, he really should read my recaps. Quantum and Whitey do some more bonding and get back to work.
At some point, Quantum looks up and comments, "New arrivals." Gee, three guesses at who they could be. A hooded "new arrival" approaches Quantum in a "sinister" way, but Whitey slams him to a wall and orders him to stay away from his bitch. Reed shrugs his hood off and urges, "Captain!" Quantum reassures Whitey that the Brit is a member of his crew. Quantum and Reed grin at each other happily. "Lt. Reed, this is Whitey, my advocate!" Quantum announces. Whitey grunts at the word "advocate," which got a "hee" out of me. Reed tells Quantum that T'Pol's connections put them in touch with a corrections officer who could be bought to look the other way while they walk out the front door of Rura Penthe. "I came on one of the dilithium barges. We bribed the captain to bring us here and take us back to Enterprise," Reed goes on. Couldn't be easier if it were a fairy tale. "Is there room for one more?" Quantum rasps. "I imagine so, but we have to hurry," Reed urges. Whitey objects to this, saying, "I've been an advocate for fifty years and I spent the last twenty of them standing in that tribunal -- playing my part, holding my tongue -- and all the while honorable men were being sent to places like this without the benefit of a defense. And then I was assigned your case --" And I took the road less traveled by, and it has made all the difference. "You told me that on your world a few courageous people made a difference. I'm not sure I have the courage, but I know I'll never be able to restore honor to my people living as a fugitive," Whitey finishes as though a Poet Laureate never interrupted him. Quantum reminds him of what he said about no one being able to survive more than a year in Rura Penthe. "Most prisoners here have very little to live for," Whitey notes sagely. "He's bucking to be the Bird Man of Rura Penthe," Mathra comments. Reed reminds Quantum that time, she is a-wasting. "Go," Whitey urges the humans. "Thank you," Quantum sinceres, and puts out his hand. Whitey clasps Quantum's forearm, and Quantum clasps him back. Quantum and Reed scamper up the steps to easy freedom, and Whitey slowly gets back to work with the rest of the convicts.