Episode Report Card Keckler: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Buggy Dearest
By Keckler | Season 3 | Episode 17 | Aired on 02.24.2004
Hayes shows Reed a battle simulation on a monitor, and for some reason Reed's deeply disgusted by it. I think he was hoping Hayes was going to show him dirty magazines. However, Hayes' war games did discover a weakness in the Bug House shuttle's shields -- a weakness that could be exploited by special torpedo maneuvering. After taking this all in, Reed compliments Hayes and apologizes for his overreaction. This is where we discover that Hayes is not to be trusted from here on out, because referring to what he witnessed between T'Pol and Quantum, he asserts that he would also throw one of his men in the stockade for disobeying his orders. Reed internalizes this and goes back to the Bridge.
Daniel Dae Lewis is standing guard outside of T'Pol's quarters. Trip comes along and pleads for a conjugal visit, although he cites Neural Node Nudging as the reason. Daniel Dae Lewis hesitates until Trip threatens him with Phlox. Inside, T'Pol gaspingly asks, "What's our status?" Trip thinks that after his talk with Quantum, "this whole thing will blow over in a day or two." T'Pol's not so sure, since their anti-matter will be depleted by then; she wants Trip to get Phlox to run a full diagnostic on Quantum to find a reason for his odd behavior. Trip doesn't like the sound of Phlox finding medical evidence to relieve the captain of command, and tells T'Pol that she's taking her incarceration way too personally. T'Pol wants Trip to delay stuff with the crashed Xindi ship until they figure out what's up with Quantum's mental state. "If he finds out what we're doing, we'll both end up in the brig," Trip states. T'Pol gives him a look like, "Your point is?" Trip is very upset about having to betray Quantum, but T'Pol is insistent that they both know that Quantum is endangering the ship and the mission.
Bridge. May-hew announces that a sub-space vortex is opening up, which is the trumpet call of Xindi vessels. I'm now considering the possibility that ALL of Mayweather is CGI'd. There's something seriously weird about his face! Reed calls Quantum to the Bridge. The Bug House ship fires at Enterprise and then moves immediately away. Why? It must be because the rose of Starfleet outclasses them. Reed orders a pursuit, and also wants to disable the Xindi engines. Firefight. Hoshi reports that they're trying to open a vortex escape hatch out of there. Reed orders their torpedoes on maximum yield, and they destroy the ship. Quantum storms onto the Bridge and demands an explanation. He can't believe Reed destroyed the Bug House ship, even though Reed explains that they couldn't risk letting them escape. You know, I see the positive side of things: Reed's destruction of the Xindi ship means his aim is getting better. So, YAY! Still, pessimistic Quantum points out that the Bug Houses could have taken care of the Nurseggry and the three o'clock poachings. "We could have kept our anti-matter, continued our mission!" Quantum complains. Reed stoically notes that the Bug House ship would have given away their position to their superiors. It's not certain that they didn't do that anyway by sending off a message before they got fried. They argue a bit more before Quantum pulls out his Toad in a Hole and calls Hayes to his Ready Room. He then turns to Reed and says he's been demoted from tactical officer and will now report to Hayes. Man, he sure knows how to hit Reed where he lives! Reed protests, and Quantum confines him to quarters. Reed leaves. May-hew looks a bit scrambled. Quantum barks at Hoshi to hurry up the translation, and orders her to put together a distress call in the Bug House tongue and transmit it on all frequencies.
In his Ready Room, Quantum spreads Desitin on his chapped ass after all of Hayes's butt-kissing; Hayes also pledges his undying and unquestioning support of all Quantum does, thinks, says, and eats. He flinches a bit when Quantum paranoids the idea that Reed did something to deliberately sabotage the mission, but then he offers to help dress the eggs up in party clothes, and suggests Quantum give them names like "Aneggstacia" and "Eggward the Second." Quantum tells him he's in command when Quantum is on the surface organizing the Egg Toss.