Episode Report Card Keckler: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Importance of Being Earnest Borgnine
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 23 | Aired on 05.06.2003
Enterprise pursues the Arctic transport.
T'Pol and Reed both note that the ship has upgraded more stuff since they last laid eyes on it. Quantum increases Enterprise's speed and commands that they target the EPS manifold. The Arctic transport drops to impulse. Enterprise follows suit. Hoshi reports, "They're sending a transmission. Some sort of activation sequence?" Quantum flings himself out of his chair and orders her to block it. She can't. Suddenly, Enterprise's engineering systems go offline and the green of the Borg systems takes over. From his access shaft, Trip reports something about stuff lighting up like a Christmas tree. Shut up, Trip. T'Pol announces that their main power is failing, and Reed says they're losing weapons. "They set us up," Quantum growls. You think? Not those nice Tarkaleans you want to bring back to their homeworld no matter what state they're in! Hoshi announces an audio hail. Are we really ready for this? Quantum starts to say, "This is Captain Archer," but his polite greeting is hilariously truncated by: "You will be assimilated. Resistence is futile." Everyone looks confused.
The Arctic ship swings its bow around to face Enterprise.
The great thing about the Borg is that, being a collective, they never feel alienated as teens. They don't have to fret about who they will go to the dance with -- they'll just go as a group. They can't complain about not being understood, since their minds are all connected. And forget about sulking in their room to write embarrassingly angsty poetry, because if one of them writes bad poetry, they'll all be writing bad poetry. You know, I never felt alienated as a teen and I sort of feel alienated about that. Alienated, alienated, alienated. What were we talking about?
The Arctic transport -- screw it, it's a Borg ship, okay? -- fires at Enterprise. Quantum wants weapons from Trip, who says it's going to be a few minutes. Where's his team of engineers? Why doesn't he have anyone helping him? Reed reports a loss of hull plating. Quantum ascertains that the transporter is still online, and tells Reed to come with him. T'Pol calls out to him for instructions. "I'm counting on you to pull us out of there," Quantum tells her. He and Reed leave.
Sick Bay. More of the Borg complexion is taking over Phlox's face. Phlox starts to hear the gibbers of the Collective, and looks around blankly. The security guard rushes to his side. Phlox tells him that he needs him to activate the irradiation sequence once he's in the chamber. Phlox drags himself onto a SCAT bed, and the bed takes him into the chamber. Good thing all the firing on the ship and the loss of power doesn't seem to be affecting Sick Bay's energy sources in the least. Inside the chamber, Phlox is sitting up as the radiation starts. At first I thought he was smiling evilly, but it turns out his grin is more like a rictus of death as he whimpers in pain. Ew.
Transporter pad. Reed explains what he's done to the weapons, and advises that it might take a few seconds to recharge after each shot. Quantum orders the guy operating the transporter (they don't call them Transporter Chiefs yet, do they?) to set them down close to the Borg ship's EPS manifold. In an odd slo-mo, we see the transporter operator's hands pushing up the levers. Quantum and Reed pose for transport with their weapons aimed. It struck me as such an A-Team stance that I giggled. On board the Borg ship, they look around.