Episode Report Card Keckler: D+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Fist Fight
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 24 | Aired on 05.13.2003
Flashback. In his ship, which by the way has two seats in the cockpit -- is there some reason why he doesn't have a co-pilot or navigator or Vulcan science officer? -- A.G. complains about not being given the command to go to warp yet. Playing Ground Control to A.G.'s Major Tom, Quantum tells A.G. that they're trying to work out some stabilization problems. Two Vulcans observe. A.G. complains some more. Quantum banters without any mirth in his house of pain. Finally, A.G. is allowed to instigate warp, but not without a lot of technobabble first. Quantum counts up the warp levels. At warp two A.G. thinks the ship is getting kinda hectic, and it doesn't look like they fully worked out the warp stabilization problems. Quantum tries to get A.G. to drop out of warp, but he refuses. Forrest grabs the mic and orders A.G. to drop to impulse. He doesn't. Because he's a maverick. A.G. hits warp two-point-two and announces that the warp field is collapsing. The ship drops out of warp and explodes. Quantum tries to contact A.G., but there's only silence Oh, no! Do you think A.G. will survive? I can't believe we have to wait through a whole commercial break to learn his fate.
Yeah, T'Pol "needs relief," and she's not going to get it by taking Rolaids. Whatever.
Present Day. The sh'pod nears the possible dark matter nebula, but T'Pol thinks the readings could be misleading. Just as the explosion of NX-Alpha was misleading! This show is so deep. Quantum shoots off Trip's charges to see if there's anything out there, but the flares show nothing because Quantum hasn't fully unburdened his soul to T'Pol yet. "We need to move deeper into the nebula," Quantum says. I had to break the news to The Anvils Of Double Meaning So Obvious That Even A Literature For Mathematics Student Could Catch On that when we move to San Francisco this summer, we can't take all of them with us. They're sulking loudly. T'Pol wants to hear more of the story. "He made the record books for being the first person to deploy an escape pod at warp, but he lost one of two NX prototypes. Nearly derailed the entire program," Quantum continues spinning his tale.
Flashback. A.G.'s shaken but not stirred. Forrest demands an explanation. A.G. wants to blame the engine for having an unstable field. "You were ordered to abort!" Quantum reminds him loudly. A.G. thinks Quantum's abort order was premature -- "Immature is more like it," Mathra observes -- as they had experienced the same instability on previous tests, which had always settled down. The Vulcans comment that the engine is obviously a bad apple. "Thar's nuthin' wrowng with that injin," a voice contradicts from the bowels of a ship. Is that supposed to be NX-Beta, since NX-Alpha is long burned? Trip comes out of the ship. "You had something to add, Lieutenant...?" Forrest asks, annoyed. I ask you to notice how many people Trip manages to piss off on first contact. Quantum furrows at the new arrival. "Tucker, sir," Trip supplies for him, "I'm on Cap'n Jeffries' injineerin' team." Trip and the Vulcans argue about the engine. Quantum starts to smile at all this. "Lieutenant!" Forrest shouts. Just tell him to "Shut up, Trip" -- that always makes me feel better. Trip apologizes and goes back to work. Quantum smile-furrows a little more and says that Trip is right, in that it's a new engine that is bound to have some bugs to be worked out. "Those bugs just scattered your ship across five thousand kilometers of space and nearly killed your pilot," the Vulcan points out. A.G. repeats his mantra that they're not going to get anywhere without taking a few risks. Forrest tells him to shut up. Quantum says they should be grateful that they only lost the ship. Forrest clenches his jaw.