Episode Report Card Keckler: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Future Nonsense
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 16 | Aired on 02.18.2003
Engineering. All the devices belonging to the MMP phase out. Trip is confused.
Sick Bay. Corpus Chris T phases out. Phlox is confused.
Outer space. The MMP in the Tholian tractor beam phases out. The whole crew is confused. T'Pol clarifies, "It dematerialized and it's not aboard the Tholian ships." The Tholians take off. They must be less confused than our intrepid crew, because otherwise they would have stuck around for the Q&A hour in order to find out where the MMP got to. "Why didn't they fire on us?" Quantum wonders. T'Pol suggests that they might have only been interested in the vessel. Quantum paces a bit before he remembers to ask after the health of the Vulcans. T'Pol tells him their life support is stable and their warp drive is damaged. "Let's see if we can give them a hand," Quantum says, ordering a sh'pod prepped and Phlox to the Launch Bay.
Quantum logs that a Vulcan transport ship is on its way to tow the Valkyrie and that no Vulcans sustained any injuries. He also notes that the weather reports not a Suliban nor a Tholian in the sky.
Captain's Table. Trip whines that they didn't have enough time to investigate the MMP, and gripes, "It looks like they sent the whole kit and caboodle back to the thirty-first century." Mathra had Catfish Mardi Gras with the other multivariable calc instructors today. I have absolutely no idea what made me think of that. "There's no evidence to support that," T'Pees-On-Trip's-Parade comments. Trip doesn't think there's any evidence to contradict it either. Nope. Basically, they have nothing. They started out with nothing, they threw in some nods to TOS and TNG, and they ended up with nothing. "What I don't understand is how quickly everything disappeared. That beacon was online for less than a minute," Trip muses. "You're forgetting that time is irrelevant to these people," Quantum says. "'Irrelevant'?" Trip repeats with his mouth full. Wait a few episodes; maybe the Traveler and Wesley can explain it to you. "If that vessel was from the future, whoever sent it had plenty of time to locate the signal and then travel back to any point in time to retrieve it," Quantum explains. They seem to be drinking out of bud vases in this scene. Trip makes a lame attempt at a joke and chunters off to stroke his engines.
T'Pol and Quantum sit in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before Quantum says he's going to contact the High Command and apologize for the trouble they caused. T'Pol reminds him the captain of the Valkyrie pointed out that a ship can be replaced. "I...also...need...tothankthemforhelping out," Quantum says, clearly straining under the pressure of being nice to the Vulcans. T'Pol thinks the Vulcans would appreciate the gesture. T'Pol starts to leave, but pauses to say, "The High Command has asked me to prepare a report on this incident, with your permission." Quantum gives it, and adds, "I wonder if they'll believe that humans and Vulcans will be swapping chromosomes some day?" At least he didn't actually say "swapping spit," but it amounts to the same thing. "They're more likely to believe in time travel," T'Pol tells him extremely pointedly. Shot down again! Anyone else think Quantum needs to attend a sexual harassment seminar?