Episode Report Card Keckler: D+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Fist Fight
By Keckler | Season 2 | Episode 24 | Aired on 05.13.2003
Shoplifted NX-Beta. A.G. almost has the intermix locked down when some burly guys bust into the hangar and try to put Trip under lock and key. Trip tosses them off and demands from his headset, "NX-Beta, do you read?" There's a tense moment when we all wonder if Quantum is still alive. Alas, Quantum comms Forrest and tells him to check his sensors, as they are holding firm at warp two-point-five. "Congratulations," Forrest says. "Now get the hell back here." A.G. and Quantum smile at each other.
Hangar. Forrest rips them a new one in full view of the observing Vulcans. He suspends both men from duty until an inquiry can take place. Clearly, their egos are writing checks their bodies can't cash. Forrest rants the usual about the two men regretting that they came back once Starfleet gets done with them and then says, "You're supposed to represent the best that Starfleet has to offer. Keeping this program on track is hard enough without our own officers undermining it. What did you think that this stunt of yours would accomplish?" He rants some more. I drink some more to kill the Excessive Boredom factor. A.G. says that if they keep listening to the Vulcans, they'll never make it into deep space. The Vulcans argue with him. A.G. says that he and Quantum just proved that the ship can fly, so there's no reason to put the program on hold. The Vulcans say that's not A.G.'s decision to make. "With all due respect [or despite the complete lack of it], it's not yours either," Quantum says. Quantum agrees that they were reckless, but also aware of the consequences. "A.G. and I may never fly again but it's a small sacrifice to make if it keeps this project going," Quantum argues. For effect, he throws in some references to his father and argues some more. Forrest bites back a smile. An evil smile.
Sh'pod of Present Day. T'Pol points out the bleeding obvious -- that he wasn't dismissed from Starfleet. Quantum says they avoided a court martial and were grounded for three months. Oh, how did they survive such harshity? T'Pol points out that the NX program continued. "Eventually, the Vulcans had us run every simulation they could think of for over a year before they finally admitted that the engine would probably work," Quantum snarks. Those pesky Vulcans -- trying to make sure these emotional humans wouldn't die. How annoying. "Eight months after that, Duvall broke warp three in the NX-Delta. [What happened to the NX-Gamma?] Five years later we laid the keel for Enterprise -- you know the rest," Quantum finishes. What does a space-faring vessel need with a keel? Some alarms go off, signaling that it is again time for the Vulcan and Quantum to make another attempt at full illumination. They shoot off the charges. They seem to have no effect. For the nonce. But soft! What light through yonder windshield breaks? It is the dark matter nebula and Quantum's unburdened soul. Some pretty pink aurora borealis-y effects wash over the Sh'pod of Present Day, and it looks like spring will come early to Quantum's Mountain of Furrows. T'Pol and Quantum bask in the glory. T'Pol says, "Fascinating. This data will certainly cause a debate at the Vulcan Science Directorate." Quantum whispers for T'Pol to come and take another look. T'Pol puts him off: "I have to monitor the quantum field." Don't worry, I don't think he's going anywhere now that he's made his peace with the dead guy. "Let the sensors do it," Quantum says, turning around. Of course he really wants her to bask in the glory of their emotional-ish connection. I would have found it more moving if Quantum had broken down in tears and there was no one around but T'Pol to comfort him awkwardly. T'Pol joins him, and Quantum says, "That's why A.G. and I worked so hard to get out here." T'Pol has to finish the story for us by alluding to the fact that Quantum got Enterprise but A.G. didn't. "They made the final selection six months before we left," Quantum tells her, taking us back to the flashback: "Maybe I just got lucky." I'd say so, considering he's not the dead one.