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While checking out some spatial metaphor, Quantum tells T'Pol all about his complicated and complex comraderie with an old friend who gets obitted in the outset of the episode. Flashback time: The reportedly beddable Ruby the Bar Wench makes an appearance as a Bar Wench with brain cells. Also, on some enchanted evening, we see how Trip and Quantum first met and how Trip got his name. No, it's not that interesting. Quantum and his now-dead friend steal a spaceship and not only manage to launch it with only Trip's help but also somehow do not get kicked out of the space program for screwing around with tax payers' money. Isn't science fiction wonderful? Want more? The full recap starts right below!
In my blind rage over the Borg episode last week, I completely forgot to gush. My wonderful posters, when faced with the fact that the site banner ads had been bought up by Alias, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Amazing Race fanatics, couch potatoes, and groupies, pooled their resources and got me two lovely gifts. I adore my DS9 DVDs (I'm halfway through the season!), and my Star Trek Cookbook has already become the envy of my culinary class. Of course, it means I've been doing a lot of explaining about Vulcans, Klingons, and Trayna. You guys really are the best, and I will be able to keep and enjoy these gifts for years to come -- you can't say that about a Spuffy ad. Thank god.
Eh. During this episode, I looked in the fridge, I looked in the shower drain, I even pulled apart all the dustbunnies under the couch, but for the life of me, I could not find any suspense or tension. At all. Oh! Oh! Is A.G. going to make it out of that first flight? Of course, because he JUST DIED in the present and we are stuck viewing a flashback. Oh! Oh! Are we going to learn what "Trip" really stands for? I still prefer to think that it's because he's a klutz. Oh! Oh! Is Quantum really going to open up to T'Pol and tell her all his dark and disturbing secrets? God, I really wish we could have stopped him, but even more, I really wish they had been disturbing, or at the very least, dark. All those "heartfelt" confessions served to do was cement his stiff Boy Scout persona. And what kind of trip down memory lane is complete without a big dark matter metaphor, whose surrounding dialogue serves only to bash us over the head with the anvil of The Greater Meaning Of It All. The deeper they dig into the dark matter, the deeper T'Pol is encouraging Quantum to dig into his "anguish" over his comrade's untimely death.
Quantum and Trip get the B-plot (and show metaphor) rolling as they point out what they think is dark matter. T'Pol is skeptical that dark matter exists in such dense concentrations, and tries to make excuses for it. Quantum arranges for Trip to whip up a few technobabbles to expose the dark matter in all its glory, if it does indeed exist. Hoshi interrupts to tell Quantum that Admiral Forrest is on the horn for him. The Admiral has some bad news: "It's A.G.. He was back on Mount McKinley. ['If they wanted to be politically correct, they should have called it Denali.' -- Mathra] There was an accident. He was killed. I'm sorry." In my alternate Enterprise universe, Admiral Forrest is really an evil mastermind. I think he pushed this A.G. down the mountain.
Song.
Sh'bay. Trip tells a brooding Quantum what he has to do to expose his existential drama -- I mean, "the dark matter nebula." Trip wants to keep Quantum company, but Quantum puts him off. Still no sign of any Cogenitor repercussions on their relationship. I think that blows. To apprise us of the fact that Trip knew the dead guy as well, the engineer babbles about not being able to believe that the dead guy is dead. Quantum really wants us to know what sort of highway to the danger zone the dead guy took in his maverick lifestyle, so he comments, "All the close calls he had flying warp trials and he gets himself killed climbing Mt. McKinley." Of course, we all know he didn't "get himself killed"; The Evil Forrest made him take that extra step back for a photo,op. Quantum gets into the sh'pod, and Trip helps him close the door. After Trip leaves, T'Pol calmly boards the sh'pod and ignores Quantum's protestations. T'Pol parrots Trip's earlier pleadings to be brought along by saying, "It's only logical to bring your Science Officer along." Except that Trip didn't say "logical," because he's allergic to it. Quantum tries to eject her from the sh'pod, but T'Pol throws Starfleet Procedure in his face to the tune of the captain not being allowed to go on walkabouts all by his lonesome. T'Pol takes her seat, and Quantum gives up. Easily. I wonder if he gives into her more willingly than Trip because his crush on the Vulcan is stronger than the imagined Corned Beef Slash with Trip? Hmm. Evidently, her dinners carry more weight with Quantum than Trip's warp coils. They take off.
T'Pol tells Quantum how soon they will reach his emotional catharsis. Quantum is silent. T'Pol tries again, "I can pass the time by meditating, but if you prefer to talk..." Quantum tells her to go meditate herself. She offers him guided meditation. Quantum gives her a look, and T'Pol observes that he seems "unsettled" after Forrest's call. That's because it was an evil phone call. Quantum lies that he's fine. T'Pol is persistent and says that Trip, though reluctant to share, let it leak that a colleague had died. Quantum turns around and says, "A Starfleet captain. A.G. Robinson. I wouldn't be out here if it weren't for him." Is A.G. Robinson related to B.G. Robinson, the chick that had sex with Okona? T'Pol doesn't know who this person is, and Quantum tells her to look it up, but then relents and starts to tell her about it himself. Along with a few others, he and A.G. were in the NX-Test Program trying to break warp two. They all wanted the "first flight."
Flashback to my future hometown in the future. V.O. Quantum admits to being cocky enough to think he would get the first flight. Quantum visits Admiral (then only a Commodore, so only half as evil) Forrest, and Forrest tells him that they gave the first flight to this A.G. fellow. Quantum takes the news stiffly, yet still tries to worm in how talented he is. Forrest tells him he realizes how important this flight would have been to him, as it's his father's engine, but thems the breaks. "The most important thing to me is that we succeed," Quantum pollyannas, and then leaves. Oh, and Quantum's only a Commander at this stage so he's only half as stiff. What am I saying? He's still stiffer than molasses in outer space.
A neon sign of those wings pins they give kids on Northwest Airlines advertises the "602 Club." What's the significance of "602"? And is there going to be a wingman show here where someone sings "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"? A redheaded bar wench in a fuchsia shirt brings a beer over to Capt. Broody Pants. "Thanks, Ruby," Quantum broods. Ruby -- the chick that both Reed and Trip know biblically -- comments that the last time Quantum imbibed the weight of his furrows was when Caroline moved to New Berlin. Heh -- Quantum had a girlfriend who was so sick of his furrows that she went to live on the moon. "My guess is that Forrest gave out the assignment today," Ruby The Clued-In Bar Wench divines. "Sherlock Holmes has nothin' on you," Quantum tries to slur, but his excessive stiffness gets in the way. Ruby The Clued-In Bar Wench reminds him that they'll need a pilot for the flight. "You remember what Buzz Aldrin said when he stepped on the moon?" Quantum asks, getting to his feet. Ruby The Not So Clued-In Bar Wench doesn't. "Nobody does because Armstrong went first," Quantum says. "Bullshit! I remember! He said 'It may be a small step for Armstrong but --' wait, no, that's not it. Where's your Bartlett's?" Mathra bustles.
Quantum shoulders his way over to A.G. and his admiring crowd of officers and stiffly congratulates him. "You mean that?" Keith Carradine as A.G. asks from his scrawny throat. "Of course not, I'm waiting for Forrest to realize what a horrible mistake he made," Quantum jokes without smiling at all. He offers to buy A.G. a drink, but A.G. turns the macho tables on him and insists on doing the honors. "Consolation prize," A.G. says, a bit nastily. Quantum takes his beer and offers a stiff toast. Man, do you think if we rubbed some Icy Hot into the man, he'd loosen up a whisker? A.G. downs his highball of something stronger than beer. See, he's drinking whisky or rotgut to show what a firebrand he is, while Quantum's quaffing the drink of sanctimonious Boy Scouts -- beer. Not that I have anything against beer (god forbid), but since Quantum's drinking it in the face of his nemesis' short drink, you know it's got holier-than-thouness fermented into every drop. To prove my point, after A.G. tosses back his drink, Quantum says, "Take it easy, Commander. You're doing a simulator at oh-seven-hundred. First flight's in two weeks." Shut up, Quantum -- I don't think the guy won the first flight over you by not knowing how much alcohol he can handle. To get him back, A.G. pulls Quantum aside and tells him blandly that the reason Quantum didn't get the first flight is because he doesn't take enough risks and because he tries too hard. He even tells Quantum he does too much "by the book," but I don't think it's code for telling Quantum to ignore whatever he says while he's buried in a dead planet. Quantum's all, what's your point? A.G. says, "Starfleet doesn't just want a great pilot, they want a great captain." He pats Quantum condescendingly on the back and walks back to his crowd of admirers. We can even see him hold up his highball and request another drink.
Present Day. T'Pol doesn't understand why Quantum is mourning the death of such an asshole. "Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition," Quantum dodges. T'Pol decides to agree with A.G. on what makes a good Starfleet captain, but then strokes Quantum's furrows by saying, "Fortunately, you seemed to have developed the necessary skills." "Was that a compliment?" Quantum frowns. No, it's an observation. "An observation," T'Pol corrects him. Okay, I'm ready for summer break now. To T'Pol's query about A.G.'s flight of the navigator, Quantum says that he was lucky to come out of it in one piece.
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 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.
602 Club. Trip and Quantum have a drink together. Trip grins at Ruby and reels off a list of names. "Keep trying, Tucker," Ruby The Bar Wench smiles, and walks away. Trip explains that Ruby has had her kids' names picked out since she was ten, and will reportedly marry the first guy to guess them correctly. Quantum is not amused, and asks what Trip's name is. Trip says, "Charles Tucker, sir, but ev'rybuddy calls me 'Trip.'" Or Shut Up, Trip. "Trip?" Quantum repeats. Trip explains that, as he's the third Charles Tucker, "Trip" comes from "triple." As in "triple my boredom." Wait, Ruby called him "Tucker," not "Trip." Wanna bet he's just trying to get this nickname to catch on -- kinda like The Rossatron? Quantum thanks him for arguing with the Vulcans. They clink glasses. Trip "I don't gets" the Vulcans' attitude about their space program.
Forrest arrives and says he stopped trying to understand the Vulcans a long time ago. Trip and Quantum jump to their feet. "At ease," Forrest says. I don't think Quantum knows what that order means. Forrest asks to join them. They all sit uncomfortably until Trip asks if he can buy Forrest a drink. "It's the least you can do after that outburst today," Forrest bites out. All and sundry know that I'm no fangirl of Trip's, but man, what a dick move! I've never liked the Evil Admiral anyway. Trip stumbles over an apology, and Forrest smiles that he'll have a beer. Forrest tries to make small talk, but Quantum's furrows aren't buying it, and they ask what's on the Commodore's evil mind. Forrest admits that at the urging of the Vulcans, Starfleet has put the NX program on the back burner indefinitely. Quantum doesn't know the definition of "indefinitely," so Forrest explains they want a whole new engine. Quantum has issues with this. Major issues. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" Trip asks, staring intently at the tabletop. Hee. There was something about Trinneer's delivery there that tickled me -- it's like he's trying so hard not to have another offensive outburst that he's got to stare very intently at the table to prevent himself. Forrest gives him the go-ahead. Trip tells Quantum (and reminds all of us who capriciously decided tonight was the night to watch a show with falling ratings and viewership) that the engine is of his father's make, and that if he were in Quantum's furrowed boots, he wouldn't take this lying down.
Time passes. We know this because we get a shot of a rain-soaked window.
A.G. walks into the 602 Club and orders a bourbon, straight up. See, that "straight up" also shows what a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants-with-his-hair-on-fire kind of guy he is. Unless it shows that he's going to love me forever, or if I'm just caught in a hit and run. Unasked -- as, by comparison, Forrest was -- A.G. sits himself down with Trip and Quantum (Forrest has left to do evil elsewhere), and doesn't appear to notice or care about the chilly reception he's getting. "I suppose you heard," Quantum snarls. "This is really going to throw a wrench in my career plans," A.G. says. What an ass -- and we're supposed to be all sorry in the end that he died? Ruby brings A.G his drink and tells the table it's last call: "Anything else?" A.G. throws back his drink and orders another. Because he drinks a lot, he's obviously bad. I should know, I'm downright rotten to my inebriated core. Ruby collects Quantum and Trip's empty glasses to further show that those two goody-goodies aren't ordering any more mind-altering alcoholic bevvies. Trip and Quantum want to know what A.G. told Starfleet and the Vulcans in his debriefing. "What do you think? The subspace field destabilized at warp two-point-two. Primary flight controls failed, resulting in the loss of the vehicle," A.G. says. What about ignoring a direct, albeit evil, order from the Commodore? "Aren'chew forgettin' sumptin'"? Trip wonders. A.G. begs to be enlightened. "The possibility of pilot error," Trip says. A.G. says he's really not interested in Trip's lieutenant opinion. "You should be!" Quantum thunders. Does anyone else think it would be funny to see a remake of The Clash of the Titans in which Bakula plays Zeus? Scratch that -- where Bakula plays Hephaestus? He could forge furrows. He'd work in a Furrow Forge. ["God knows Bakula's acting would fit right in." -- Sars] Quantum blames A.G. for giving the Vulcans the excuse they wanted to shut down their space program. A.G. tells him, "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Archer, but [the engine] doesn't work." Trip argues that the engine is fine; they just need more time to play with the intermix. "We need more than time," A.G. says. "I agree. We need a pilot who listens to orders," Quantum snots. The two asses argue (mental image of Jim Carrey talking with his butt cheeks in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) about just at which address the blame should be laid. "Your father designed a lousy engine," A.G. finishes. Quantum punches him. A.G. lunges for Quantum's throat as Trip grabs Quantum's beer bottle and scurries for safety. I could call Trip a wimp, or I could give him props for realizing that this isn't his argument. Hmm. Yeah, Trip's a wimp.
The little boys ruin a lot of bar property in this schoolyard fight. Trip hangs out by the bar. Ruby ineffectually yells, "That's enough!" Oh, just turn a hose on them already. Ruby pokes Trip and tells him to "do something." Like what? Technobabble them to peace? Trip steps over and holds Quantum's arms back as two other random officers do the same for A.G. "You think this is going to get either one of you closer to warp five?" Ruby demands. Out of the mouths of clued-in bar wenches. A.G. and Quantum bleed and gasp at one another. Ruby throws down her bar rag in irritation.
T'Pol's out of control. Like Tony Danza's daughter in that movie that no one else saw but me and my sleepover in 1989.
Shuttle Pod of Present Day. "The fight was interrupted?" T'Pol asks. "Not before I got two bruised ribs and a cracked molar," Quantum says. Oh, poor baby -- you got hurt in a fight you instigated yourself. I take back everything I ever said about you. NOT! T'Pol supposes they'll never know. Quantum just looks at her. "Who would've won," T'Pol clarifies. What an odd thing to say. Is she trying to be funny? Some alarms go off, and Quantum thinks they must be getting close to his emotional baggage claim in the form of the dark matter thingamabob. Quantum and T'Pol argue over whether or not the blips that set off the alarms and the fluctuation of the sh'pod's power have anything to do with the B-plot. However, it gives Quantum reason -- as if he needed prompting -- to babble, "One thing I learned from A.G. -- you're never going to get anywhere without taking risks." I thought he learned that from his Sepia-Toned Father when he told him not to be afraid of breaking wind or something. T'Pol comments that Quantum admired the man who cracked his molar and bruised his ribs. "Humans can have funny ways of forming friendships," Quantum laughs, before musing that A.G. would have loved outer space and it's too bad he never got to see it, seeing as how he earned it. ["I think it was right around that line that Chuck Yeager finally threw up his hands and filed a copyright infringement lawsuit." -- Sars] Unsurprisingly, T'Pol's confused, since Quantum said that A.G. was responsible for nearly ending the space program. "He was also responsible for getting it back on course. With a little help from me and Trip," Quantum tells her.
Flashback. A bruised A.G. packs up his stuff. A bruised Quantum walks in. A.G. kicks a plastic bin over to Quantum and invites him to get packing as well. Quantum's not ready to give it up yet, and says he's been thinking about what A.G. said about his father's engine the night before. A.G. starts to say that he was out of line, but Quantum stops him and says he was right, and that he hasn't been objective about this whole thing. Quantum's been doing some studying -- burning the midnight oil that A.G. was so derisive about in his first scene -- and thinks he figured out a way to fix the technobabble. A.G. argues a bit about whether anyone will even listen to them, but Quantum is of the firm belief that they can talk the Commodore to death. Quantum even throws A.G.'s risk-taking babbleage back at him and asks what they've got to lose. A.G. talks Quantum into shoplifting the NX-Beta. "You want to talk about taking risks?" A.G. asks. "You're a great pilot -- maybe even as good as me. But you're never going to get out into deep space by playing it safe. When the first warp five Starship is built, its captain won't be able to call home every time he [or SHE!] needs to make a decision. He won't be able to turn to the Vulcans. Unless he decides to take one with him." The anvil of As What? His Science Officer?! Surely You Jest! is whining to be let out of its room.
Sh'pod of Present Day. More B-plot inconsequentials. T'Pol comments that she never read nothin' in the Vulcan database about stealin' no warp vessels. Quantum says that it wasn't something Starfleet wanted spread across the front page of every newspaper in town. Of course not; taxpayers might be a little annoyed at your abuse of their hard-earned money. T'Pol doesn't say anything. "Don't you believe me?" Quantum asks. Why don't you tell her more of the story in order to prove it? "I have no doubt that it happened, though I find it difficult to believe you had to be convinced to participate," T'Pol tells him. "You didn't know me then. I was a little more by-the-book," Quantum sniffs. No, really? Quantum and T'Pol try illuminating the dark matter nebula again, but as there are still eighteen minutes left and Quantum himself hasn't reached full illumination, their test fails. "We still have two more charges left, let's keep looking," Quantum furrows. T'Pol bounces in her seat, eager to hear more of the test flight story.
Quantum comments, "Promise you won't put this into the Vulcan database?" But before he gets her to sign her name in green blood, he continues anyway.
Flashback. Quantum suits up, and Trip technobabbles. Trip begs to be allowed aboard. Quantum says they need him on the ground. Doing the work of what a team of -- oh, I don't know -- a DOZEN MEN would be doing? Reality check, please! Whatever, I truly just don't care enough -- I'd SO much rather be watching the Minnesota Wild. A pox on this double recap night! Quantum assures Trip that he'll get "out there" someday: "If I had my own ship, I'd sign you up in a second!" Trip says he's going to hold Quantum to that. Quantum thanks him and boards the vessel to A.G. Technobabble. "Not too late to call this off," A.G. offers. "We could head over to the 602 for a beer." "Not on your life," Quantum says. They take off. Quantum asks Trip if anyone has noticed their grand theft starship, but Trip has it fixed so that if anyone were to check the sensors, they'd think the doors were closed and the lights were off. "But New Berlin should be picking you up in about six minutes," Trip says. Maybe Quantum can wave to that Caroline person he got drunk over. A.G. says that by the time anyone puts two and two together, they will be halfway to Jupiter.
Forrest's office. A random officer tells Forrest that New Berlin called them up to say they detected the NX-Beta. Forrest is agog, as this launch foils some of his evil plans. "Internal sensors show it's still in the hangar," Random Officer says. "Has anyone bothered to look?!" Forrest demands, and storms out.
NX-Beta. A.G. hands over the pilot's seat to Quantum, saying that he got the first flight. "Besides," he adds, "you could use the practice." Technobabblage. Forrest comms in to demand what the hell is going on. "Just running an engine test, sir," Quantum comms blandly. "Archer?" Forrest boggles, "Turn around right now and I'll do what I can to keep you out of prison. If you --" Quantum hangs up on him. "Archer!?" Forrest yells as some Vulcans walk in. So if there were Vulcans present, how exactly was this little escapade kept out of the Vulcan database -- hmm? Can you really imagine the Bermaga Vulcans being swayed by the argument, "Pretty please with sugar on top"?
Shoplifted NX-Beta. They hit warp two, and Trip reports fluctuations in the intermix. "We see it," Quantum tells him. "Your warp field's destabilizing!" Trip shouts. And we go to commercial. Ooh, this strategic commercial placement is making me ignore the fact that Quantum is alive and well in the beginning of the ep and telling T'Pol all about A.G., who has JUST died in the present -- I really wonder if he will survive the warp field destabilization! Since I'm already on the edge of my seat, I might as well get up for a Dark and Stormy. Have you ever had one made with Jamaican-style ginger beer? Goya makes the best -- hits you right at the back of the throat with its spiciness.
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.
Ruby gives A.G. and Quantum some beers and says, "Congratulations, Captain." She wants him. A.G. proposes a toast. The three (Ruby has a beer as well) clink glasses. Ah, do you see what I see? A.G. is now drinking beer. Clearly, his rompings with Quantum have made him forego his derelict ways of bourbon in multiple highballs. The goody-two-shoes-ness has rubbed off on him as much as the risky business has rubbed off on Quantum. A whole lot of rubbing going on. And rubbin', son, is racin'. A.G. -- just so we know he hasn't completely given up his old ways -- says that Quantum is one lucky S.O.B. Of course, it would have been more baddie-ass of him to say the actual words instead of the spell-out. Quantum tells him luck had nothing to do with it. "It couldn't have been talent," A.G. says. No, it really couldn't. Ruby smiles and decides to take her body and her beer elsewhere. "I'm just waiting for Forrest to realize what a horrible mistake he made," A.G. says, in an exact parrot of Quantum earlier in the episode. Ah, his journey to the Furrow Side is now complete! They chuckle. A.G. says he'd much rather wait for the NX-02: "Let you make all the mistakes so I'll have an easier time of it." And Quantum's doing exactly that, believe you me. Quantum toasts to the first skipper of the NX-02. Yeah, the first dead skipper. A.G. says he is off for more survival training the morning, so he has to take off. Anyone else think how that survival training wasn't really big on the "survival," given what we know of this guy? On his way out the door, he says, "Hey, I'll see you out there." Through dead eyes.
Sh'pod of Present Day. Quantum seems to have stopped talking (finally!), and T'Pol tells him they gotta head back to meet up with the ship. The ship that could have saved A.G.'s life! If Quantum hadn't been so selfish with grabbing the commission, A.G. wouldn't have been on Mt. McKinley for Forrest to murder, and the magnificent bastard would still be with us today -- S.O.B.! Trip greets the sh'podder and asks how everything went. "Your charges were effective," T'Pol tells him. "Wuzzit a gud show?" Trip asks. "You should've been there," Quantum tells him absently. "I'll remember to ask you time," Trip jokes. Yes, Quantum does seem to have a history of leaving Trip behind, doesn't he? T'Pol says, "I believe there's a human custom that says that when you discover something of merit, you earn the right to name it." So, does that mean I can call them "Keckler's Furrows"? Oh, no, she said "something of "merit." "What would you suggest? The T'Pol-Archer Nebula?" Quantum wonders. "I was thinking the Robinson Nebula would be more appropriate," T'Pol says. Why? Who is Robinson? Was he in this story? I'm confused. Or at least I wish I were. T'Pol walks away, and Quantum smiles.