Episode Report Card Keckler: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Buggy Dearest
By Keckler | Season 3 | Episode 17 | Aired on 02.24.2004
In the Situation Room, Trip breaks the news to Reed and T'Pol that it will take a third of their anti-matter to bring the Xindi ship back to life, since all the Xindi systems are integrated. Not very energy-efficient of them, if you ask me. In fact, it's Xindi like them who are raising the gas prices in California! Reed rants about how crazy Quantum is acting. "Delay the transfer for now," T'Pol tells Trip. "The Captain gave us an order," Trip protests. T'Pol sighs and says she'll speak with him. Trip nods. "Like, it was spring and there were lots of dead locusts everywhere, and people in gym, like, used the locusts to, like, torture each other. They'd throw the carcasses at each other. This one guy put a LIVE one in his mouth, walked up to someone and opened his mouth. It was really scary. Yeah, and the noise was with you always, it was there when you went to bed at night and it was there when you woke up. It was like Ross and his air purifier," Dr. Mathra continues his Tales of the Uninsected. Just letting him get it ALL out.
After T'Pol expresses concern at his OCD, Quantum upper-arm grabs her (he really likes that move!) when she refuses to begin the anti-matter transfer. He tells her that she might be running around in velveteen catsuits instead of the more comfortable fabric-of-our-lives jumpsuits, but she can still be charged with insubordination. "Perhaps we should contact Starfleet and discuss this with Admiral Forrest," T'Pol challenges him. Sure, if you want to have an EVIL discussion. Quantum dismisses her from duty, and a Hayes escorts her up to the ship. Wow, how embarrassing.
Immaculate white towel over one shoulder, Quantum comes out of the shower just as his doorbell bing-bongs. It's Trip, reporting that the anti-matter transfer is beginning. Quantum comments that he didn't realize how much he needed a shower: "I've been spending too much time in that hatchery." Well, we didn't want to say anything, but the smell was starting to put people right off their food. Trip comments that if Quantum's looking for a new first officer, he should turn his eyes toward Malcolm: "I'm a little busy at the moment." Quantum looks at him briefly as he buttons up a black shirt. Ooh, love the black shirt. Not so much love for the Tick Underoo panties, though. I just prefer things like butt cheeks to be left to the imagination. I'm rather Victorian like that. Apparently, Quantum is happy with the command structure as is -- he just thought T'Pol needed a slap on the wrist, as this isn't the first time she's questioned his orders. Trip feels it's out of the ordinary for Quantum to lock T'Pol up. "These aren't ordinary circumstances, Trip. T'Pol refused a direct order in front of the crew. I can't have senior officers behaving like that, especially on a mission this important."
Quantum sits down to finish dressing. Trip thinks that he should be confined to quarters as well, because he doesn't think they're doing the right thing. Especially since it's not that believable that the Xindi would do the same for them. Quantum decides its time to flesh out his background a little, and says that his great-grandfather was in N. Africa during the Eugenics wars (ooh, the Eugenics wars -- do you think he ran into Khan?!), and some schoolhouse rock full of children was in the middle of a battle. Grandpappy Quantum got the enemy commander to agree to hold fire until the school was evacuated: "There are rules, Trip, even in war. We have to help these children."