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Disoriented, Mayweather slowly awakens to find himself and the unconscious
Archer inside a dilapidated prison cell, with no idea where they are or how they
got there. Trying the cell door, Mayweather is surprised to find it unlocked,
but quickly closes it when he hears approaching footsteps, keeping it open just
enough to observe two aliens pass by: Suliban.
With Archer out cold, Mayweather spies around the large complex, finding at
least thirty more Suliban throughout. When Archer slowly regains consciousness,
Mayweather reports what little intelligence he was able to gather, and the two
decide to surreptitiously explore the complex together. Turning a corner the two
officers run into a Suliban woman and freeze, not knowing what to expect.
Surprisingly, the woman doesn't attack, but rather tends to her own business
until a loud alarm goes off, signaling some sort of an inspection time, causing
her to stand at attention and wait. Archer and Mayweather follow suit, until a
group of alien guards and their leader, Major Klev enter the room and roughly
take them to see the man in charge of the complex, Colonel Grat.
In stark contrast to the harsh demeanor of Major Klev, the Colonel is quite
hospitable and wastes no time in explaining the strange circumstances in which
Archer and Mayweather find themselves. The Colonel is a Tandaran, and when the
two Enterprise officers were exploring a moon they trespassed into the
Tandaran military zone and were therefore apprehended immediately. Taken back to
this prison to be genetically tested the officers were found not to be Suliban
in disguise, and therefore are not technically prisoners. However, as they did
trespass there must be a hearing in three days time due to strict regulations,
before they will be allowed to return to Enterprise.
Ensuring the Captain that the hearing is only a compulsory detail, Grat also
promises to contact the Enterprise personally to inform them of their
missing crewmen's safety and situation. Unhappy at the situation, but at least
having had their questions answered, Archer and Mayweather return to their cell
to wait out the three days. Grat does indeed contact T'Pol upon Enterprise,
and explains the situation to them with his sincere apologies for the delays.
Left a little unsettled as to the safety of their crewmen, T'Pol and Trip wait
anxiously as Reed and Hoshi try to trace Grat's signal, but find it scrambled to
hide his location. Left with no other choice, T'Pol sets a course for Tandar
Prime, the planet on which Archer and Mayweather's trial will take place in
three days time.
To his amazement, Archer finds small children being held captive in the
prison and expresses his disgust at how one little girl's father could involve
her in the Cabal organization. To his surprise the father, Danik replies that
none of the imprisoned Suliban are members of the Cabal, but rather are victims
of prejudice from the paranoid Tandarans. Archer slowly realizes the complex is
not a prison, but an internment camp, similar to the Japanese-American camps in
WWII. Befriending Danik, Archer learns more of the plight of innocent Suliban,
who aren't involved in the Cabal but still suffer the wrath of the Tandarans by
being imprisoned for years in these horrid camps. The Suliban homeworld became
uninhabitable over three hundred years ago, scattering the Suliban into a
nomadic life, settling where they could until the Cabal ruined it for them all.
Interrupting their lunch, Major Klev takes Archer to Grat's office, where he
finds the Colonel much less affable. Studying the files onboard Archer's
shuttlepod, Grat discovered the Suliban incident with a Klingon on Earth in
Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Additionally, he found Archer's encounter with Sarin, the
head of a Suliban resistance cell on the planet Rigel Ten very interesting.
Refusing to comment on Grat's outrageous accusations, Archer only angers the
Colonel further, who then demands that Archer shares his knowledge of the
Suliban. Refusing to be strong-armed, Archer is defiant to Grat's interrogation,
and is taken back to his cell with the threat of indefinite detainment for
refusing to cooperate.
Contacting Enterprise, Grat informs them the hearing has been
postponed, and that they will simply have to wait further. Hoshi is finally able
to trace the location of Grat's signal, which Trip uses to convince T'Pol to set
a course for the planet. Always thinking of contingencies, Archer speaks with
Danik of possible escape from the prison. As three prisoners previously died
trying to make it to the hanger where the confiscated Suliban ships are held,
Danik is initially against the idea, but slowly considers it as he thinks of his
daughter growing up in a prison, and eventually agrees to rally the other
Suliban for the attempt. Mayweather tries to make friendly contact with Sajen,
Danik's friend, but finds Sajen bitter over Mayweather's preconceptions of the
Suliban due to the Cabal's influence. Left to face his prejudices, Mayweather
focuses on the escape, while Sajen refuses to risk being killed by a foolish
dream of freedom.
Asleep late in the night, Archer is awakened by a communicator being
transported into his cell. Finally able to talk to his crew, he informs them of
the escape plan to free the Suliban. The next day Archer is taken into Grat's
office to reconsider the Colonel's offer. Standing firm, Archer is disheartened
when a badly beaten Mayweather is dragged into the room, and Grat holds up the
communicator Archer used the previous night from his cell. Still refusing to
cooperate, Grat has Archer beaten and thrown into one of the isolation cells.
The Colonel then uses the communicator to contact T'Pol on the Enterprise,
and warns that his patrol ships will open fire if the Enterprise comes
any closer to the planet.
Having Dr. Phlox cosmetically transform Reed into a Suliban, T'Pol hails Grat
and stalls just long enough to both jam the Colonel's sensors and transport the
disguised Reed into the complex with weapons and explosives. While Reed gets
Danik and the others prepared inside the prison, T'Pol engages Grat's two patrol
ships, sending them packing with two direct torpedo hits. Dropping the Enterprise
out of orbit and into the atmosphere, T'Pol goes low enough for Trip to
drop-launch his shuttlepod and head towards the prison.
Simultaneously, inside the complex the prisoners line up for their routine
inspection from Major Klev, waiting for the right moment when the Major and his
guards are in front of the wall to the outside. Detonating the explosives, Reed
knocks out Klev and the guards, while creating their door to freedom. Trip
swoops down on the camp in his shuttlepod, firing weapons and destroying the
camps exterior defenses. Deep inside the complex Reed hurries to locate Archer
in the isolation cells, but just as he opens the cell door he is blindsided by
Grat! Dazed, Reed goes down as Grat levels his weapon at Archer, furious at
releasing the Suliban not to their freedom, but to their doom as he feels they
will either die of starvation and persecution or be forced to incorporate into
the Cabal.
Undetected, Reed slowly regains his senses and lunges at Grat's legs,
enabling Archer to grab the weapon and take control. Locking Grat into the cell,
Reed and Archer head to freedom along with the rest of the Suliban. Watching as
the various Suliban ships head off into the depths of space, Archer, Mayweather
and Reed wonder about their chances.
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